Congressional Democrats are pushing back on a Trump administration move that could jeopardize the $350-million Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) grant program, which includes more than 230 public two-year colleges.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Democratic co-chairs of the Senate and House HSI caucuses, are among a handful of Democrats who this week condemned the Trump administration’s recent letter declaring that it will no longer defend the HSI program in court, which they say will effectively end the program.
“The Trump Administration’s refusal to defend the Hispanic-Serving Institutions program will jeopardize the education of not only the two-thirds of all Latino college students who attend HSIs, but of millions of students from all backgrounds who attend these important institutions across the country,” Padilla and Castro wrote in a release.
The lawmakers add that the Trump administration’s threat to shut off HSI funding is “a threat to similar minority-serving programs across the country that are essential to educational equality and our economy.”
HSIs are accredited and degree-granting public or nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent student enrollment. They enroll two-thirds (67.3%) of all Hispanic undergraduates and 37% of total Pell recipients, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).
Community colleges comprise the largest portion of HSIs — 236 of the nation’s 615 HSIs, followed by 191 public four-year institutions, according to HACU. Seven of the top 10 HSIs with the highest Latino headcount are public two-year colleges (see chart, below), according to an analysis of federal data by Education in Excelencia.
While HSIs serve a large number of Hispanic students, they serve students of all backgrounds, advocates note. In fall 2023, 45% of undergraduate students at HSIs were Hispanic, while the remaining 55% represented other racial/ethnic groups, including White (26%), other races/ethnicities (10%) — which includes American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, two or more races, nonresidents and unknown backgrounds — Black (9%) and Asian (9%), according to Excelencia.
