At the heart of California’s $59 billion agricultural industry are the hardworking migrant farmworkers who harvest the food that feeds our nation. Their labor sustains our economy, but their children, who face extraordinary educational barriers due to the migratory nature of their parents’ work, have long been among the most underserved and vulnerable students in our school systems. For over 50 years, the federal Migrant Education Program (MEP) has helped level the playing field for these students. Today, that essential support is under threat by the Trump Administration.
Established in 1966 under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Migrant Education Program was designed to address the educational disruption and challenges faced by children of migratory agricultural workers. These students are often forced to move multiple times a year across school districts and state lines, missing weeks or months of classroom instruction. Many also contend with poverty, language barriers, housing insecurity, and limited access to healthcare.
MEP provides critical services tailored to these unique circumstances. These include academic support during and after school, summer enrichment programs, health screenings, nutrition assistance, and help with school supplies and transportation. Most importantly, it offers continuity, a stable thread of educational support across state borders, so that a child who starts the school year in Salinas can continue learning without interruption if their family moves to Imperial County, the Yuma Valley in Arizona, or Washington State.
In California, which is home to the largest migrant student population in the nation, the need is staggering. More than 75,000 students in our state are eligible for services under the Migrant Education Program, and over 10,000 reside in Monterey County alone. These children are not statistics, they are bright, resilient, bilingual students with dreams of becoming engineers, nurses, teachers, business owners and community leaders. For many, MEP is the only consistent educational support they receive during the school year.
But this lifeline is now being jeopardized. Last month, the Trump Administration withheld billions in federal funding for categorical programs, including $375 million for migrant education, $890 million for English language acquisition programs and $716 for Adult Education, among others, but was only reversed after 24 states, including California, filed a lawsuit on July 14. California alone would have been the hardest hit with $810.7 million in total withheld funds. The public outcry and bipartisan pressure further compelled the Trump Administration to release those funds several days later.
While those immediate threats were thwarted, the specter of future cuts remains. There are already signs that the upcoming federal budget may target programs like MEP for reductions, despite clear evidence of their success and necessity.
Eliminating or scaling back this program would be a cruel betrayal of the very children whose families feed America. California alone produces 75% of all fruits and nuts, and one third of all vegetables for the nation. Cutting this vital support would dismantle a proven support system, leaving schools scrambling to meet the needs of highly mobile students and leaving families with nowhere to turn. The consequences would be devastating; the students would fall further behind academically, have greater language barriers, suffer increased social isolation, and watch their dreams slip further out of reach.
We must recognize migrant education as more than a federal program, it is a reflection of our values as a nation. If we claim to care about educational equity, economic opportunity, and the dignity of essential workers, then we must invest in the tools that help their children succeed.
Congress must act decisively to protect and expand funding for the Migrant Education Program in the coming fiscal year. We urge our federal representatives, from California and across the country, to champion this investment. And we call on state and local leaders to continue advocating for the children whose parents work hard each day in California’s agricultural fields.
Every child deserves the opportunity to learn, no matter how often they move or how humble their beginnings. The Migrant Education Program honors that promise. Let’s not turn our backs on it now.
Luis Alejo is a Monterey County Supervisor representing District 1 in Salinas, a former California State Assemblymember and former legal aid advocate for the California Migrant State Parent Advisory Council. Simon Salinas is a former State Assemblymember and County Supervisor for the Salinas Valley, and a former bilingual teacher who taught migrant students in Salinas.
