Delivered via electronic mail

February 5, 2024

Federal TRIO Programs Subcommittee

Program Integrity and Institutional Quality Committee

United States Department of Education

RE: Expanding TRIO Programs Eligibility to Undocumented Students

Dear Members of the Program Integrity and Quality Committee and Federal TRIO Programs 

Subcommittee:

The one hundred (100) undersigned organizations and institutions, including current TRIO 

grantees, wholeheartedly support the expansion of eligibility for Federal TRIO programs to 

include undocumented students as proposed by the Department of Education through its 2024 

negotiated rulemaking.1 We are encouraged by the Department’s willingness to propose these 

changes to support these students’ educational access and success and now encourage the TRIO 

Subcommittee and full Committee to support the expanded eligibility criteria and reach a 

favorable final consensus.

The Federal TRIO Programs’ current exclusion of undocumented students is counterproductive 

and arbitrary.2 The proposed regulations would enable Federal TRIO programs to continue to 

serve the disadvantaged students that the Higher Education Act established Federal TRIO 

programs to assist. They would enable Federal TRIO programs to serve eligible undocumented 

students enrolling in high school every year and pursuing postsecondary education. They would 

also align federal regulations with the policies of many states that recognize the importance of 

supporting access to higher education for undocumented students.3 Currently, 24 states and the 

District of Columbia have extended in-state tuition to undocumented students through their 

legislatures and policies, and 18 states and the District of Columbia also provide access to instate financial aid.4 

We encourage the Subcommittee not to treat certain benefits of TRIO programs that 

undocumented students may be barred from receiving, like stipends, as stumbling blocks to 

expanding eligibility for TRIO services overall.5 Colleges, states, and TRIO practitioners are 

eager and have proven adept at finding ways to support undocumented students while 

complying with this statutory restriction. Indeed, the greater equity issue and barrier for these 

students is access to the program itself, which the Subcommittee and Committee as a whole now 

has the opportunity to rectify. 

1 Off. of Postsecondary Educ., Dep’t of Educ., Issue Paper No. 6: Federal TRIO Programs (Jan. 12, 2024), 

www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2023/trio-subcommittee-issue-paper-session-1.pdf. 

2 See Letter from Organizations to Sec’y Cardona, Dep’t of Educ. (July 1, 2021), 

www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/cee6bced-c236-4db7-90b5-06ed9cdff62c/federal-trio-programs.pdf. 

3 Am. Immigration Council & Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Educ. and Immigration, Undocumented Students in 

Higher Education How Many Students Are in U.S. Colleges and Universities, and Who Are They? 10-11 (Aug. 2023), 

www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/07.23-Undocumented-Students_v3.pdf. 

4 Portal to the States, Higher Ed Immigration Portal, www.higheredimmigrationportal.org/states (last visited Jan. 18,

2024). 

5 See, e.g., 34 C.F.R. § 645.42.
Letter from Organizations re TRIO Programs Eligibility

January 22, 2024

Page 2

Through the Performance Partnership Pilot (“P3”) for Disconnected Youth, the Department 

waived immigration status requirements that are barriers to achieving improved outcomes for

TRIO programs in California and Oregon, including the Talent Search, Classic Student Support 

Services, and Classic Upward Bound programs. The California P3 agreement became effective in 

November 2022 and is in effect until September 2026. Projects participating in the P3 

demonstrate that students have exceeded expected outcomes in maintaining their grade point 

averages and academic good standing, as well as persistence to their diploma. Undocumented 

students have been able to contribute to and benefit from the high level of effectiveness of these 

programs. TRIO practitioners have reported an easing of administrative burden by extending 

services to undocumented students, rather than barring them from participation.

Support for both TRIO programs and Dreamers is consistent and bipartisan.6 Allowing TRIO 

programs to serve undocumented students accords with this support and would buttress states’ 

goals for increasing the percentage of their residents obtaining postsecondary education.7 States 

recognize the benefits that investing in students’ access to postsecondary education yields for 

their local economies.8

The undersigned, members of negotiated rulemaking committees, and the Department have all 

invested in undocumented students for over a decade. The opportunity now presents itself to 

ensure they can receive more of the support they need to access postsecondary education, thrive, 

and graduate. We respectfully urge you to come to a favorable final consensus on the proposed 

changes. 

Sincerely,

Achieve Twin Cities

Adelante Education Coalition NC

Aliento Education Fund

American Association of State Colleges and Universities

American Federation of Teachers

American Immigration Council

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

ASPIRA Association. Inc

Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities

Atlanta Public Schools

Blue Mountain Community College

6 Maureen Hoyer, Council for Opportunity in Educ., House Subcommittee Level Funds TRIO in Bill That Cuts Overall 

FY24 Funding by 28% (July 18, 2023), www.coenet.org/news-impact/advocacy-update/house-subcommittee-levelfunds-trio-in-bill-that-cuts-overall-fy24-funding-by-28; Press Release, Council for Opportunity in Educ., Record 

Number of Bipartisan Representatives Call to Prioritize Funding for Federal TRIO Programs (Apr. 27, 2022), 

https://coenet.org/news-impact/press-releases/record-number-of-bipartisan-representatives-call-to-prioritizefunding-for-federal-trio-programs; Press Release, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Educ. and Immigration, Voters 

Agreed on Urgent Need for Legislative Solutions for Dreamers: Recent Polling Shows a Strong Majority of Americans 

Across the Political Spectrum Support Action (Nov. 9, 2022), www.presidentsalliance.org/press/voters-agreed-onurgent-need-for-legislative-solutions-for-dreamers-recent-polling-shows-a-strong-majority-of-americans-across-thepolitical-spectrum-support-action. 

7 Nat’l Governors Assoc., Governors Prioritize Postsecondary Education Pathways In 2023 State Of The State 

Addresses (Mar. 27, 2023), www.nga.org/news/commentary/governors-prioritize-postsecondary-educationpathways-in-2023-state-of-the-state-addresses. 

8 Am. Immigration Council & Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Educ. and Immigration, supra note 3, at 4, 11.
Letter from Organizations re TRIO Programs Eligibility

January 22, 2024

Page 3

Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR)

Breakthrough Central Texas

Building Skills Partnership

Bunker Hill Community College Foundation

California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office

California State University Channel Islands

California Student Aid Commission

California Undocumented Higher Education Coalition

Casa Azul de Wilson

Center for Law and Social Policy

Center for Popular Democracy

CHILDREN AT RISK

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)

College Advising Corps

Colorado Department of Higher Education

Communities In Schools of Chatham County

Donnelly College

Downtown Magnets High School

Durham Public Schools Foundation

Eastern Oregon University

Education Leaders of Color

Education Trust - Midwest 

Education Trust Louisiana

EduOptimists LLC

El Vínculo Hispano

Estrella del Paso (Formerly Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services)

Faithaction International

First Gen Empower

FWD.us

Golden Door Scholars

Hispanas Organized for Political Equality

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)

Illinois Dream Fund

Immigrants Rising

Immigration Hub

ImmSchools

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)

LatinxEd

Los Angeles County Office of Education

Make the Road Nevada

Make the Road NJ

McHenry County College

Metropolitan State University

MSU Denver

NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

National Association for Bilingual Education

National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

National College Attainment Network

National Education Association
Letter from Organizations re TRIO Programs Eligibility

January 22, 2024

Page 4

National Immigration Law Center

National Migrant Seasonal Head Start Association

NavigateED Solutions LLC

New America, Higher Education Program

Northern Illinois University

Peak Education

Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration

Rutgers University-Newark

Salt Lake Community College

SALUD! Multicultural Health Coalition

San José State University

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)

Southern California College Attainment Network

Teach For America

The California State University

The Education Trust

The Education Trust- Tennessee

The Education Trust, Massachusetts

The Institute for College Access & Success

UC Berkeley

UC San Diego

UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Cruz

UCLA

UndocuScholars LLC

United We Dream

University of California Graduate and Professional Council

University of California Student Association

University of California System

University of California, Merced

University of Hawaii

University of Southern California

Villanueva Consulting

Voto Latino

Wesley Foundation Serving UCLA

Western Oregon University

Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center

Young Invincibles

YWCA Greensboro

YWCA High Point

cc: The Honorable Nasser Paydar, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education