Over 14 Million Latinos Face Uncertain Futures Amid Trump’s Push to Dismantle the Education Department
Washington, D.C. — Voto Latino strongly condemns the Trump administration’s unilateral effort to dismantle core functions of the U.S. Department of Education—an agency created to ensure every student in America has equitable access to quality education and opportunity.
Millions of Latino children are going to be heavily impacted by the administration’s latest plan to move key offices including the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Postsecondary Education, the Indian Education program, as well as additional offices that administer foreign languages and child care programs, to other federal agencies.
In response to this reckless move, Voto Latino issued the following statement:
“Let’s be clear: this is an attack on students, families, and the promise of equal opportunity. The Department of Education plays a critical role in upholding civil rights, protecting students from discrimination, and ensuring federal education dollars actually reach the communities who need them. Attempting to dismantle it through bureaucratic loopholes is a direct threat to Latino students and every student who relies on a fair public education system.
Attempting to dismantle the agency by housing its offices under different federal agencies is reckless and dangerous. It threatens to scatter critical programs across multiple departments with no clear guarantee that students’ rights will be protected. This is not about efficiency; it is about eroding the federal commitment to equity in education and leaving our most marginalized students to fend for themselves.
At a time when Latino students are living in fear due to the administration’s actions, destabilizing the agency charged with protecting their rights is not only irresponsible—it is cruel.”
Latino students across the country will bear the brunt of the administration’s actions:
- There are more than 14.4 million Latino students in Kindergarten-12th grade public schools across the country.
- Latino students seeking higher education will be impacted as nearly 75% of Latino college students receive financial aid. This will impact the demographic that is more likely to be first-generation college students—about 44% of Latino college students are the first in their family to attend college.
- In the 2022-2023 school year, 15% of students with disabilities identified as Latino/Hispanic. There are approximately 1,125,000 Latino children with disabilities in U.S. public schools.
Voto Latino demands Republicans in Congress to intervene immediately to assert its constitutional authority, and stop this administration from undermining the futures of millions of students. Our country cannot afford the consequences of abandoning educational equity.
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Voto Latino is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of Latino voters while working to build a more inclusive and representative democracy. Since its founding, Voto Latino has registered nearly two million voters. In 2024, the organization took legal action to protect voting rights, filing multiple lawsuits in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina to safeguard access to the ballot ahead of the elections.