**Trump Administration Shuts Down Milwaukee Job Corps Center Amid National Program Pause**

The Trump administration is closing the Milwaukee Job Corps Center, a vocational training school situated at 6665 N. 60th St., which currently serves more than 200 students. This facility is one among numerous centers across the United States affected by the Department of Labor's decision to halt operations.

The Milwaukee Job Corps Center offers residential vocational education, with programs including masonry, HVAC, nurse assistant training, and welding. Job Corps centers, established in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, provide young adults aged 16 to 24 with industry-recognized credentials, high school diplomas or equivalents, and essential soft skills for workforce integration. On June 30, the center's operations will be paused, following the labor department’s announcement tied to President Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. Though termed a "pause," there is no current indication of resumption, leaving students to seek other education and employment avenues.

Jamie De Jesus Sr., COO of the Innovative Education Solutions Institute, expressed concern over the closure’s impact. Many students, facing challenging educational environments and sometimes homelessness, rely on the stability and support provided by the Job Corps program. De Jesus remarked, "Imagine you have no place to go in the world, and then you finally find a place that accepts you, and then you get told you gotta leave and go back to the streets."

Despite bipartisan criticism, the Department of Labor justifies the closure with a report indicating a 38.6% average graduation rate, an annual per-student cost of $80,284.65, and numerous significant incidents involving drugs. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer stated that the program, originally designed to help young adults forge better lives, no longer meets its intended goals. However, the National Jobs Corps Association (NJCA) disputes these findings, arguing that the graduation rate traditionally approaches 60%, costs per student are below $50,000, and graduates usually earn more than twice the minimum wage.

The Milwaukee Job Corps Center was inaugurated after advocacy by former Mayor Tom Barrett, with the campus consisting of two residence halls and accommodating 300 students. Since opening in 2011, it has awarded thousands of high school diplomas and career and technical education credentials. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin condemned the administration’s decision, emphasizing the importance of job training programs in stimulating the economy.

As the closure deadline nears, De Jesus and others are striving to find alternative educational programs, housing solutions, and food assistance for the affected students. Reflecting on his own life, De Jesus noted that programs like Job Corps could potentially redirect young individuals away from paths that lead to incarceration, underscoring the critical support such initiatives provide to vulnerable populations.