AG Nessel Files Amicus Brief in Support of Job Corps

LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today filed an amicus brief (PDF) with attorneys general from 18 states and the District of Columbia in support of Job Corps, a national program that offers career training and housing to young Americans from low-income backgrounds. Job Corps has nearly 100 residential campuses across the country, and the Trump Administration’s illegal termination of the program threatens to leave thousands of vulnerable young Americans homeless. 

The brief explains that, “in the sixty years since Congress created Job Corps, millions of young Americans from low-income backgrounds have been served by the program’s unique combination of education, training, housing, healthcare and community.” The unlawful termination will impact tens of thousands of young Americans who are currently enrolled and housed at campuses in all fifty states. Thousands of these program participants were unhoused or in foster care when they enrolled and have no alternative housing if they lose their residence through the program. 

Michigan has three Job Corps centers located in Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids. As of 2023, more than 700 students were enrolled across the state. The Trump Administration’s efforts to terminate the program have led to paused operations. 

“Michigan Job Corps students who lived on campus are now being unlawfully displaced and cut off from the essential services they depend on,” Nessel said. “The Trump Administration does not have the authority to terminate congressionally created and funded programs simply because it wants to. I stand with my colleagues in defending this critical, longstanding program that has uplifted some of our most vulnerable youth for more than six decades.” 

The brief was filed in National Job Corps Association et al. v. Department of Labor et al. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York today. Attorney General Nessel joined the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington in filing this brief. 

Today’s amicus filing reaffirms that the injunction is necessary to protect vulnerable state residents and promote state goals in education and workforce development. It further reinforces the point that the Trump Administration cannot violate federal law and the Constitution by terminating congressionally mandated programs it opposes.