Trump Administration Attempts to Pause Federal Aid, ICE No Longer Acknowledges Sensitive Locations, Court Ruled DACA as Unlawful, Postsecondary Enrollment Has Seen An Increase
No images? Click here
January 29, 2025
With the start of a new Congress and a new Presidential Administration, now would be a great time to spread the word on ACCT's Latest Action in Washington (LAW) Alerts. Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the LAW Alert network. To join, simply register here.
Leading the news this week:
On January 27, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) gave the directive to Federal departments and agencies that starting on January 28, 2025 5:00PM, they were to put a pause on all federal financial assistance programs which include grants, loans, projects, or activities until February 10, 2025. This directive was issued so each agency and department would be able to identify and review programs which is in contradiction with President Trump’s executive orders. As the memo stated, while not exhaustive, these include programing related to “financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.”
On the evening of January 28, a federal judge placed an administrative stay on this directive which was set to expire on February 3, 2025 5PM. Before this time the Trump administration would not have been able to pause disbursement of funds for federal programs. Currently, the Trump administration has rescinded the memo altogether.
Regardless, ACCT is closely following these developments and how they impact our community colleges. For a list of programs that would have been affected by this directive, please view this ACCT article.
President Donald Trump signing the first set of executive orders of his administration. AP Photo/ Matt Rourke
Latest News in Higher Education
Webinar: Unveiling of the 2025 Community College Legislative Priorities
Join the government relations staff of ACCT and AACC as we discuss the 2025 community college legislative priorities. This session will provide a preview of the discussions that will take place at the National Legislative Summit (NLS) and is intended to help NLS attendees prepare for the meetings with their Members of Congress. The session will also provide community college leaders, students, and other supporters with information on the key issues that we will be advocating for in the 2025 calendar year. This webinar will take place February 4, 2025 at 2:00PM EST. Here is the link to register.
ICE No Longer Acknowledges Sensitive Locations
Last week President Trump's Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Benjamine Huffman, has eliminated the acknowledgment of "sensitive locations", as seen under the Biden administration, when conducting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of undocumented and non-citizen residents. This means that ICE agents can conduct raids and make arrests at institutions of primary, secondary, and postsecondary education, places of worship, and hospitals. While groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform are in favor of this change; in anticipation of this decision, approximately 80 organizations sent a letter to state and local leaders around the nation urging them to prohibit local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE and ensure access to universal legal representation; in addition to other asks.
Appeals Court Ruled DACA as Unlawful
In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit three judges issued a stay until there is a further order from the U.S. Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program . This means that new DACA applications cannot be processed; yet, current DACA recipients prior to 2021 can continue receiving DACA benefits and apply to renew their status. In addition to this stay, the ruling has deemed DACA as unlawful. DACA offered protections to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportation and provided them with authorization to work in the United States.
Postsecondary Enrollment Has Seen An Increase
A few weeks ago the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) reported an error in methodology in its Regular Updates on Higher Education Enrollment which produced an inaccurate analysis of student enrollment, particularly among freshmen, as there were college freshmen that were counted as dual enrolled high school students. With the error having been corrected, NSCRC's Current Term Enrollment Estimates indicates that Fall 2024 freshmen enrollment has increased 5.5 percent in comparison to Fall 2023 with the strongest growth taking place at community colleges with a 7.1 percent increase. Overall, community colleges and primarily associate-degree granting baccalaureate institutions combined account for a 5.9 percent increase which amounts to about 325,000 students.
In an article by Inside Higher Ed which discusses community colleges' response to anti-DEI efforts nation-wide, it lays out a depiction of state governments that have passed or are attempting to pass anti-DEI legislation.
- February 3 - Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Partnership Grants Closing Date
- February 4 2:00PM EST- Webinar: Unveiling of the 2025 Community College Legislative Priorities
- February 12 - Institutes for Higher Education Faculty and K-12 Educators
- February 9-12 - National Legislative Summit
Outreach Efforts
Is your institution meeting or hosting an event with federal elected officials?
We created a Congressional Contact Form that will help us track outreach efforts of community college leaders across our membership. By filling out the form, you are better informing ACCT's advocacy efforts and our advocacy team is able to continue those conversations with congressional staff in DC.
ACCT NOW is the go-to resource for issues affecting community colleges. Our new website features original reporting and research, as well as of-the-moment legislative updates. ACCT NOW also includes articles, reports, and research from outside sources that benefit the ACCT community. Read the Latest Articles on ACCT NOW:
Have a Question?
Contact us with any questions or concerns about public policy and ACCT's advocacy on behalf of two-year colleges and two-year college trustees. ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts are sent to interested ACCT members to keep you up to date on important legislative activities that impact community colleges.
If you no longer wish to receive ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. For more information about ACCT's advocacy services, visit acct.org/advocacy
Spread the Word.
Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) Alert network. To join, simply register here.
For more community college news from inside the beltway, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, or like us Facebook.
