VAAP Condemns JobCorps Stop-Work
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 3, 2025
Contact: Diane Gray (she/her), Administrative Services Director, Northlands Job Corps
Email Gray.Diane@jobcorps.org. Office (802) 877-0161. Cell: (802) 349-0962.
Immigrant Youth At heightened risk Amid Northlands Job Corps Shutdown:
VAAP Urges Emergency Action, Cites Pattern of Federal Harm
Vergennes, VT — The Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP) is calling for immediate state and federal intervention following reports that immigrant students at Northlands Job Corps are at heightened risk of self-deportation without receiving legal consultation after a sudden shutdown order issued to Northlands by the Trump Administration. The Department of Labor’s directive will shutter Vermont’s only Job Corps center by June 30, 2025, displacing 220 students and eliminating over 120 jobs in Addison County.
“This is not just a federal budget cut—it’s a moral crisis with real human consequences,” said Jill Martin Diaz, Executive Director of VAAP. “When young people are driven to self-deport because they feel abandoned and unsafe, our systems have failed them. What’s happening at Northlands is part of a national pattern of federal attacks on immigrant children.”
The shutdown mirrors the February 2025 stop-work order freezing legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children—a move VAAP is challenging in CLSEPA v. HHS, where a court granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The government has since appealed to the Ninth Circuit. Meanwhile, the consequences for immigrant youth continue to grow.
Internal DOL communications confirm that Northlands students, including unaccompanied minors and youth of color, are being sent back to their “homes of record” starting June 2, without any access to legal screening or secure housing. At least one student has reportedly self-deported, according to a request for legal consultation with VAAP by Northlands’ Administrative Services Director, Diane Gray.
“The pathways to education, employment, and community that Northlands offered are exactly what we aimed to expand through S.56,” said Chittenden County Senator Martine Laroque Gulick, lead sponsor of the Vermont Office of New Americans bill signed into law last month. “With federal attacks escalating—especially in rural areas—Vermont must stay the course. We need more people staying, working, and building their futures here. Closing Northlands takes us in the wrong direction.”
Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers, writing in the Waterbury Roundabout, recently emphasized the urgency of expanding, not eliminating, technical training programs like Northlands: “We must broaden the public’s understanding of what constitutes success after high school. Not every student will go to college, but every student can and should access postsecondary training that helps them build a successful, fulfilling life.”
Rodgers warned that Vermont cannot afford to undermine technical education when its infrastructure future depends on a skilled, trained workforce: “Modern infrastructure work isn’t just physical—it’s deeply technical. We need smart, trained problem-solvers. And we need to fund the programs that make that possible.”
Representative Becca Balint also condemned the shutdown in a public Instagram video: “This is an incredible program that trains people in welding, construction, food service, automotive, nursing—jobs that are critical to our economy... I’m just so angry that they have targeted this program... This is why I’m so frustrated with this administration. They are hurting the people in lower and intermediate classes and catering to people at the top.”
VAAP’s Call to Action. VAAP urges:
Federal action to halt the dismantling of Job Corps and restore funding to centers like Northlands, or at least temporary relief until immigrant and other at-risk students can receive legal screening and housing support.
Emergency enrollment pathways through Vermont’s public and technical school system.
Philanthropic and state coordination of emergency fundraising, transitional housing, counseling, and legal assistance.
Download the Northlands Advocacy Toolkit for documents, contacts, and outreach templates.
“We need more job training in Vermont—not less,” said Martin Diaz. “These youth are our future workforce. Vermont must act now to protect them.”
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CORRECTION JUNE 3, 2025 at 3:45PM. In an earlier version of this press release, VAAP referenced early reports indicating that at least one student may have self-deported. We have since clarified with the community members contacting VAAP for legal consultation on this unfolding stop-work order that while no students are confirmed to have left the country at this time, the risks remain urgent and real. We can confirm that noncitizen students are currently enrolled at Northlands and are among those directly impacted by the Trump Administration’s abrupt contract termination and program shutdown. These students are already navigating heightened legal vulnerability—and many have no safe home to return to or support network outside of the program. The initial reference reflected the very real possibility that students, facing a lack of legal guidance or stable options, may be pushed toward decisions that result in involuntary departure or deeper legal risk. These risk factors persist. As shutdown procedures accelerate, VAAP continues to urge:
A pause on removals and returns until legal screenings can be conducted
Immediate coordination of housing, education, and case support for displaced students
Proactive outreach to noncitizen and vulnerable youth to ensure they are not left behind
We remain focused on ensuring that every student at Northlands—particularly those with uncertain immigration status—can remain safe, secure, and supported in Vermont.
ENCLOSURES.
Download the “What is Northlands Job Corps Center” factsheet here.
Download Northlands’ “Important Rules for Campus Staff” policy here.
Download the DOL “Notice of Contract Ending May 31, 2025” to Northlands here.
Download Northlands’ “Staff Outreach Guide” here.
Download Northlands’ “Authorization to Share Job Corps Student Information” here.
Download Northlands’ “Job Corps Student and Center Staff Talking Points” here.
Download pertinent Vermont and New York federal representative contact information here.
