Four Michigan congressional lawmakers call for reversal of Job Corps cuts
After the Trump administration ordered the pause of operations at Job Corps centers across the country, including three in Michigan, local lawmakers are now pushing for its reversal.
On Monday, four Michigan Democratic congressional leaders sent a joint letter to the labor department, calling the service disruption "abrupt" and destabilizing.
"This abrupt, sudden, very cruel closure of these programs, all three centers in Michigan, has left students devastated without housing and without a clear sense of what will be next," said U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
When announcing the decision, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer cited the program's mission of building a pathway for young adults to create a better life through education, training and community.
She says the move came after a "startling number of serious incident reports, and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveals the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve."
Impacting more than 700 students across the state, Rep. Rashida Tlaib says the decision is already driving the hundreds of program participants in the Detroit, Flint, and Grand Rapids areas between the ages of 16 and 24 into homelessness and dangerous situations.
"These are real lives. These are not just numbers, and folks can't just come and just cross a line and say, 'We don't want this program anymore,'" said Tlaib.
Congressman Tim Walberg, a 5th District Republican who also serves as the chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, sent CBS News Detroit a statement in response to the move: "Multiple reports and investigations have exposed Job Corps' failures to keep young people safe or prepare them for success in the workforce. Job Corps is supposed to help young people, but it is clearly failing at that task."
Tlaib shared that congressional leaders are working on getting a potential injunction to reverse the decision.
"This is what many of my neighbors and residents ask me to spend money on. They said, 'We want resources back in our community.' This has been a program that has saved lives, that has helped people thrive," said Tlaib.
The Department of Labor says it remains committed to ensuring that all participants are supported through the transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed.
