In a sweeping attack on one of the last remaining federal social programs for working-class youth, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced on May 29 that it would “begin a phased pause in operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.” The press release continued: “The pause of operations at all contractor-operated Job Corps centers will occur by June 30, 2025.”

As of 2025, there are 123 Job Corps centers in the United States with some 45,000 students. The order affects a majority of 99 Job Corps centers operated by private contractors. Nearly all of the facilities provide education, job training, housing, meals and healthcare to tens of thousands of low-income youth aged 16 to 24.

The actions by the DOL represent an unlawful attempt to dismantle the Job Corps program—despite the fact that its future lies in the hands of Congress, which created the program and holds constitutional authority over its funding.

The Job Corps program was established by Congress in 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” Over its six-decade history, the program has served more than three million people and currently employs over 10,000 staff. For many students whose parents may be deceased or incarcerated, it is their only access to stable housing and career training.

The DOL justified the shutdowns as being in line with the “President’s FY 2026 budget proposal.” In testimony before Congress on June 5, Teamsters-endorsed Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer defended the shutting down of Job Corps as part of Trump’s “America First” agenda aimed at ending “waste and abuse.”

Chavez-DeRemer cited statistics compiled by the DOL, with the assistance of Elon Musk-installed “Department of Government Efficiency” employees, to justify shutting down the program. Attempting to characterize the program as a safety hazard, she claimed there were “14,000 serious incidents” in 2023, without clarifying that thousands of those include power outages, inclement weather, athletic injuries or adult students leaving campus without prior approval.

In announcing the “pausing,” Chavez-DeRemer cynically claimed, “We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.” Nothing could be further from the truth; thousands of students and workers will be left to fend for themselves.

The announcement last week has already inflicted immediate and devastating impacts. Students across the country—many with nowhere to go—were given just days to vacate their housing. Community members and families have expressed outrage and disbelief at the callousness of the decision.

Speaking to Fox 2 News in Detroit, Pastor Mo reacted with outrage to the Job Corps closures that have impacted his neighborhood. “I am livid. I cannot believe this,” he said. He went on emphasizing that the students impacted are striving for a better future: “They are trying to get it right, this is why I’m so pissed off. These are not kids in a youth hall that got caught in a crime, these are kids trying to avoid getting caught in a crime.”

Students living and working at the facility were made to pack their bags and leave. While some had parents or family members able to pick them up, others were left essentially homeless.

One student affected by the closure of the Detroit Job Corps is 16-year-old Carleton Davis. In an interview with Fox 2 News, Carleton’s mother, Tiffany, revealed she is battling breast cancer and had recently lost her home. She said, “I didn’t want him to be a statistic… I wanted him to be focused on his education. I have breast cancer surgery next week, so now I’m debating having my surgery canceled so I can make sure my son is okay.”

In New Mexico, 23-year-old Job Corps student River told KOB 4 TV: “I feel abandoned by the people that I voted to put in place to take care of me in this country.” She added, “People have nowhere to go, and they’re 16. A lot of people here have never experienced any sort of homelessness and are seeing it for the first time.”

In Memphis, Tennessee, a mother named Nolen shared her emotional experience with ABC News after being forced to retrieve her daughter just days after the “pause” was announced. She said she was not even allowed to help her daughter move out. “It’s plenty of kids in that building who depend on that building that don’t have nobody… Plenty of kids that don’t have a parent or nobody in their family like me.” She continued, “To watch my baby bring all her belongings down with other students who are residents here was heartbreaking.”

Following the announcement, a lawsuit was filed against the DOL, arguing that the agency’s actions violated federal law. The lawsuit claimed the order required Congressional authorization, formal notification and public input before the program could be terminated.

On June 4, a federal judge issued a two-week temporary restraining order blocking the DOL from continuing with the shutdowns. A hearing to determine the future of the program is scheduled for June 17. Following the court’s decision, some students and staff forced to vacate their residences and end their programs are now being told to come back.

There is widespread confusion among students, many of whom are reluctant to return to their housing only to face the possibility of being forced out again. Others haven’t been invited back at all. Staff members are reportedly just as uncertain, with one posting on Reddit, “Center staff are learning info only shortly before students do, and it really is no more than what students know.”

The two-week pause granted by the court is only temporary, and there is widespread and healthy skepticism that the court will ultimately do nothing to prevent this social crime. Even with the closures temporarily halted, the damage already inflicted in just one week has been profound.

One student shared their experience on Reddit: “My whole life has been instability and constantly moving away. Having to pack all of my bags up and being told I had to leave was devastating. It was such an awful feeling to experience that again, I don’t ever want to go through it. I decided to just suck it up back with my abusive adoptive parents at home.”

Another student wrote: “I was about to be homeless with only a week to find a place. On my final days, I found a family member to stay with on the other side of the country. I grieved over my career but moved on and was ready to start a new. Now they pull this (two-week pause)?? Why should I trust this? If they don’t win on the 17th, then I lost my ONE chance at finding somewhere to go, but if I leave and they win, then I just threw away my career.”

This reporter attempted to contact Job Corps centers in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Long Beach, but was either unable to reach staff or was told they had been instructed “not to speak to any media.” As outrage continues to mount, this deliberate censorship aims to contain the growing crisis and suppress public awareness of the widespread devastation caused by the shutdowns.

The attempt to destroy the Job Corps program is part of the Trump administration’s broader attack on the working class. In just the first five months of his second term, over 275,000 federal workers have been laid off—part of a campaign to defund social services and funnel billions in tax cuts to the rich and corporate interests.

The Republican Party is pushing legislation such as the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which proposes the largest cuts to Medicaid in U.S. history, drastic reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and trillions in tax giveaways to the wealthy. At the same time, the bill expands military spending and immigration enforcement, deepening the state’s repressive apparatus while gutting programs that serve the working class and poor.