Torrez visits NMJC after court fight preserves TRIO funding
Attorney General Raúl Torrez recently visited New Mexico Junior College after litigation preserved more than $13 million in federal TRIO funding supporting college access programs statewide.
The attorney general met with students after a legal challenge protected more than $13 million in federal college-access funding in New Mexico.
Organ Mountain News report
HOBBS - Attorney General Raúl Torrez recently visited New Mexico Junior College to meet with students whose academic support programs were preserved following a federal court fight over TRIO funding.
The visit followed legal action that helped protect more than $13 million in federal funding for New Mexico’s TRIO programs, which provide academic advising, financial guidance and mentoring for low-income students, first-generation college students and students with disabilities.
At NMJC, the restored funding allows student support services to continue operating without interruption, helping students stay enrolled and progress toward completing their degrees.
Torrez said meeting with students helped put the funding dispute into context.
“The students I met with put faces to the funding we fought to protect,” Torrez said. “Our legal action helped ensure they can continue pursuing their education and their future.”
Adam Guillen Jr., NMJC’s director of student support services, said the visit was unusual for the campus and meaningful for students involved in the program.
He said Torrez discussed lawsuits filed on behalf of TRIO programs in New Mexico and explained how the legal challenge affected local students. Guillen added that students attended the meeting after classes had ended for the day to share their experiences and support the program.
In October, Torrez joined attorneys general from 20 other states in filing two amicus briefs supporting the Council for Opportunity in Education in lawsuits challenging the federal government’s decision to cut TRIO funding.
The briefs argued that applying new federal policies retroactively had already forced some long-standing TRIO programs to shut down, disrupting academic and counseling services. The attorneys general warned the cuts could have lasting effects on students, colleges and state economies.
The federal government later withdrew the funding reductions and reinstated the TRIO grants.
State officials said the restored funding includes more than $13 million for New Mexico TRIO programs, with about $1.67 million benefiting NMJC. There are 42 TRIO programs across 16 higher education institutions in the state, serving more than 10,000 students.
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