Reps. Pete Aguilar, Mark Takano and Norma Torres are among the lawmakers fighting to reopen the Inland Empire Job Corps Center in San Bernardino, two months after the Trump administration paused funding for all such centers in May.
The three Democratic lawmakers signed a July 16 letter with Reps. Raul Ruiz and Judy Chu, also Democrats, demanding the Labor Department fully reopen the center that provided tuition-free career and technical training to hundreds of students each year before its closure.
The department has yet to respond the letter, according to Aguilar. Previously, the department said the program was beset by financial and operational issues and that pausing funding for the centers aligned with President Donald Trump’s budget priorities.
In their July 16 letter, the lawmakers expressed “extreme concerns” over the decision to pause funding for the centers, a move which forced 120 students to leave the San Bernardino site.
“At a time when costs are going up and Trump’s tariffs are driving inflation, no one should be losing their jobs or housing because of this administration’s mismanagement,” Aguilar said on Thursday, July 24. “The Job Corps program has been around for more than 50 years and has continuously helped young people finish high school, train for their future careers and get good-paying jobs.”
He noted that the Inland Empire center has helped up to 340 students each year learn much-needed skills.
Following the Labor Department’s announcement that it was pausing funding, Job Corps centers across the country announced closures.
“Trump’s decision to shut down the program has forced out hundreds of students across the country and taken away their paths to good-paying, steady careers,” Aguilar said. “Donald Trump made a lot of promises about lowering costs and creating jobs during his campaign for president, but instead, he’s gutting important programs like this one and making it even harder for many people in our community to get ahead and earn a good living to support their families.”
Before its closure, the Job Corps program offered San Bernardino-area students training for careers in the automotive, construction, finance, healthcare, homeland security, hospitality, information technology, manufacturing, renewable resources and transportation industries.
In their letter, lawmakers called on the Labor Department to follow a recent federal court order to keep the Job Corps Centers open.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter of New York issued a temporary restraining order that prohibited the department from terminating jobs, removing students from the 99 contractor-run Job Corps centers or eliminating the program without congressional authorization, the Associated Press reported on June 5.
The San Bernardino site closed in late May.
According to the Labor Department, the Job Corps program has faced significant financial challenges. In 2024, the program operated at a $140 million deficit, the department said. The deficit is projected to reach $213 million in 2025.
In recent years, Job Corps has seen an average graduation rate of 38.5% and 14,913 “serious incident reports,” according to a 2025 Job Corps Transparency Report, issued by Labor Department, including 372 reports of sexual misconduct and assaults, 1,764 reports of acts of violence, 1,167 reports of safety or security breaches, 2,702 reports of drug use and 1,808 reported hospital visits.
In a May 30 response to the report, the National Job Corps Association noted the Labor Department examined data from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
“Like other schools and colleges, enrollment and (graduation) rates were depressed by Covid-19 policies,” the association noted in a news release. “Historically, Job Corps graduation rates have been above 60%.”
As for the 14,913 “serious incident reports,” the association said the reporting requirements also included power outages, inclement weather, athletic injuries that require treatment and adult students leaving campus without prior approval.
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