Attorney General Ford Joins Amicus Brief in Support of Legal Challenge to Unlawful Termination of Job Corps

Carson City, NV — Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced he has joined an amicus brief with attorneys general from 21 other states in support of a proposed class of plaintiffs challenging the unlawful termination of Job Corps, a national program that offers career training and housing to young Americans from low-income backgrounds. This is the second amicus brief AG Ford has signed onto in support of Job Corps, after he and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown co-led an earlier brief filing in June.

"I've been speaking directly with Nevadans and hearing firsthand how tough things are right now. Working families are struggling, and young people — especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds — are desperately fighting for a chance at a better life," said AG Ford. "I will stand up in every way possible to protect Job Corps and the critical support it provides to Nevada's youth and, in that, the future of our state. The dismantling of this program is not only unlawful and unconstitutional, it's a direct threat to Nevada's future. Using our young adults as pawns in a political game is not just wrong — it's shameful. I will not stand quietly while this is happening."

Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs challenging in National Job Corps Association et al. v. Department of Labor et al., noting in its opinion that the coalition of states had opposed the termination of the program. Today’s filing urges the court, weighing a motion brought by enrollees in the program, to affirm that an injunction should remain in place.

Job Corps has nearly 100 residential campuses across the country, and the Trump Administration’s effort to illegally terminate 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.”

Unlawful termination of the program would impact tens of thousands of young Americans who are currently enrolled and housed at campuses in all fifty states. For example, the Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center in Reno graduates 500 vocational students a year. 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.

Today’s amicus filing reaffirms that keeping an injunction in place 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.

Today’s brief was filed in Cabrera et al. v. Department of Labor et al. in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. AG Ford was joined in filing this brief by the attorneys general of of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

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