DENVER — Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is leading the charge to protect a cornerstone of youth job training in America. On Friday, Weiser filed a legal brief alongside 17 other attorneys general urging a federal court to block the Trump administration’s controversial decision to pause the operations of the Job Corps program, a move that jeopardizes the future of nearly 100 centers nationwide — including one in Mesa County, Colorado.
The program, which has supported millions of young Americans from low-income backgrounds for over six decades, offers job training, education, housing, and healthcare to some of the country’s most vulnerable youth. With the administration’s announcement putting the entire program in limbo, thousands of students and staff face uncertainty — including the nearly 100 students living and learning at the Collbran Job Corps Center in eastern Mesa County.
“This reckless decision will rob hardworking young people of a chance to better themselves and their communities,” said Attorney General Weiser. “It risks leaving thousands of vulnerable young people homeless.”
Weiser’s filing, submitted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is part of the case National Job Corps Association et al. v. Department of Labor et al. The brief argues that the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the program is not only cruel and irresponsible but unlawful, violating both federal law and the Constitution by seeking to unilaterally terminate a program that Congress has repeatedly mandated and funded.
Local Impact in Mesa County
The Collbran center specializes in hands-on trades training, from carpentry and masonry to wildland firefighting — career paths that benefit both the students and the communities they serve. Many of the center’s students are formerly homeless or in foster care, and the closure would leave them with few alternatives.
Though the facility remains open for now, the threat of shutdown looms large. Colorado’s bipartisan Congressional delegation and at least one Republican state lawmaker have already voiced concern, calling for the center’s protection and continued funding.
A National Safety Net Under Threat
Job Corps, operated by the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has long served as a national safety net for disconnected youth, combining education, vocational training, and structured housing. According to the attorneys general, dismantling it would harm thousands of young people and undermine workforce development efforts across the country.
“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 brief states.
“Terminating Job Corps would be devastating for vulnerable young Marylanders, many of whom
were homeless or in foster care before receiving housing, healthcare, and career training through
the program,” said Maryland Attorney General Brown. “Without this safety net, thousands would lose
their homes, medical care, and job training, further straining Maryland’s social services.”
Job Corps is a crucial vocational program that keeps young people in our state while offering them the tools they need to thrive,” said Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark. “The Trump Administration cannot violate federal law and the Constitution by terminating congressionally mandated programs it opposes. I’m filing this amicus brief to lend Vermont’s support to the lawsuit fighting for Job Corps.”
“Michigan Job Corps students who lived on campus are now being unlawfully displaced and cut off from the essential services they depend on,” Michigan Attorney General Dana 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.”
“Job Corps offers critical career training and housing to young Arizonans from low-income backgrounds,” said Arizona Attorney General Mayes. “For more than sixty years, it has helped young people from all corners of our state gain the skills they need to succeed and thrive in the workforce. It is unconscionable and unlawful for the Trump administration to terminate such a vital program.”
A Broad Coalition of Legal Opposition
Joining Weiser in the legal action are attorneys general from Washington, Nevada, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont — forming a powerful bipartisan coalition to defend the program’s future.
Weiser emphasized the urgency of the court’s intervention, saying that the administration’s plan not only places thousands of young lives at risk but also sets a dangerous precedent for executive overreach.
As legal proceedings unfold, advocates for Job Corps hope the court will block what they see as an unjustified and harmful rollback of a proven federal program — one that many argue remains vital for America’s next generation of workers.
