After the Trump administration announced the suspension of the Job Corps program and that all 99 of its centers would close, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Public Citizen Litigation Group filed a federal lawsuit opposing the action as an illegal shutdown of the program.
The lawsuit describes how on May 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor defied requirements set by Congress by announcing the end of the program without public notice and other required procedures. As a result, tens of thousands of at-risk young people around the country were told they would immediately, or by June 30, 2025, lose access to Job Corps education and training, their place to live, and their access to health care and other services. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seven Job Corps students on behalf of a nationwide class.
Congress established Job Corps in 1964 to provide young people with education and vocational training. Job Corps enrollment is limited to low-income people between the ages of 16 and 24 who face barriers to employment, including homelessness. Participants in the programs receive education and training, as well as housing, a biweekly living allowance, and medical, dental and mental health services.
The program has been an important pathway for housing security and economic opportunity, particularly in the South, and especially for people of color, with almost half of the participants in the program being Black youth.
