Multiple California colleges are winding down a program designed to help the children of migrant workers during their freshman year on campus because the Trump administration said it will deny any future applications.
The College Assistance Migrant Program serves about 2,400 children of migrant farmworkers per year and pays for dedicated tutoring, counseling, financial aid and internships.
Dwayne Cantrell, vice president for student affairs and strategic enrollment management at California State University-Bakersfield, said the school’s program just finished its five-year funding cycle, so it has ended.
“It’s sad that it’s not continuing,” Cantrell explained. “However, we do know who our CAMP students are, and we have been able to provide services through our existing system. They are not the same resources, but we haven’t forgotten about them.”
The administration said in its 2026 budget proposal the program is “extremely costly” and “not proven effective.” The feds tried to cut $52 million in funding for the 2025 fiscal year but released the money after a group of schools filed a lawsuit. Some schools still have time on their funding cycle, so the program will survive for this year at several Cal State locations and a handful of community colleges.
Rafael Topete, senior director of educational partnerships at California State University-Long Beach, said the program there has funding for this year and is contracted to operate through 2029.
“It’s an access program that has allowed many students from a migratory background to come into college and change the trajectory of not only their lives but also have a positive change with their whole family,” Topete observed.
Topete added it is unclear whether the administration will try to withhold funds in future years for schools with time left in their funding cycle.
