Los Angeles, CA - April 22:A homeless person sleeps across from Los Angeles City Hall where AHF's Housing Is A Human Right advocates wrap red ribbon around Los Angeles City Hall to symbolize how red tape prevents affordable housing on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Imperial Beach, California – President Donald Trump’s move to shut down privately run Job Corps centers across the country has left hundreds of vulnerable young people in San Diego County scrambling for shelter, stability, and support. At the Imperial Beach Job Corps center, where about 300 low-income youth had been living and studying, more than two-thirds left within days of the closure announcement.
The federal Job Corps program has existed for more than six decades, offering academic training, counseling, and housing to disadvantaged youth, many of whom have experienced abuse, homelessness, or disability. But on May 29, the Department of Labor announced a nationwide shutdown of Job Corps centers operated by private contractors—like the one in Imperial Beach, managed by the controversial Management and Training Corporation, which also operates private prisons and immigration detention facilities.
With little warning, staff were told to begin closing the center within a week. Students were given even less time. Some, like Brandon Cecil, who was pursuing a psychology degree at Southwestern College while living at the center, were told to vacate immediately. He’s now sleeping on a friend’s couch.
The Department of Labor claimed it would ensure an “orderly transition,” but what unfolded in Imperial Beach was far from it. Counselors, county officials, and local nonprofits scrambled to respond. Roughly 70 displaced youth have found temporary shelter through emergency partnerships with groups like Urban Street Angels, the YMCA, and the San Diego LGBT Center. Yet around 30 still lack housing.
The cuts, now facing a legal challenge and paused by court order, have sparked bipartisan backlash in Congress. More than 200 members of the U.S. House, including San Diego’s representatives, signed an open letter opposing the closures.
For students like Cecil, the decision was more than a policy change—it was a destabilizing disruption to a fragile path forward. The support system offered by Job Corps wasn’t flawless, but it provided a sense of structure and safety.
“You get a roof over your head. You get meals. You get education,” Cecil said. “That’s where the program is shining.”
Whether that support will continue now hinges on an upcoming court decision scheduled for June 17. Until then, the fate of those who remain—and those already forced out—remains uncertain.
