Trump just cut grants to Latino-serving colleges. During Hispanic Heritage Month
Helping Latinos "violates equal protection." Really?
I went to Boston University on a full ride. First-gen. Daughter of Dominican immigrants. Member of the Hispanic Honor Society. The kind of student these federal programs are supposed to uplift. And now, in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Trump administration has decided that grants for colleges like mine — Latino-Serving Institutions — are “unconstitutional.”
Let’s call it what it is: an attack.
The Facts They Don’t Want You to See
The Department of Education just announced it will stop awarding more than $250 million in grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). These are colleges where at least a quarter of undergrads are Latino. Think of CSU, CUNY, Miami Dade, community colleges across Texas, California, New Mexico. Entire ecosystems of working-class students will feel this blow.
In total, around $350 million in grant funding across minority-serving institutions is being wiped out — affecting roughly 800 colleges.
Their excuse? That targeting funds to Latino-serving or other minority-serving schools violates “equal protection.” The same tired legal spin we saw in the affirmative action cases.
Meanwhile, the administration is shoveling half a billion dollars to other institutions they deem politically convenient.
Why This Is Personal
These grants are not “handouts.” They are lifelines. They keep tutoring centers open. They help pay for lab upgrades. They fund advisors who understand what it means to be a first-gen kid navigating FAFSA, student loans, or even just figuring out how to pick classes.
I know, because I lived it. Without those programs, I wouldn’t have made it to or through BU. I wouldn’t be here writing to you now.
This isn’t about “special treatment.” It’s about fairness in a system that was never built for us in the first place.
The Slap in the Face
Let’s not miss the timing here. Hispanic Heritage Month. A moment when the White House should be celebrating our community’s contributions. Instead, this administration chose to strip funding from the very institutions that produce Latino doctors, teachers, engineers, social workers, and — yes — nonprofit leaders like me.
It’s not just hypocritical. It’s calculated.
What’s at Stake
If you think this doesn’t affect you, think again:
Students will drop out. When tutoring, childcare, or advising centers close, it’s the poorest and most vulnerable who pay the price.
Communities will suffer. HSIs don’t just educate Latinos; they lift up entire neighborhoods. When these programs go, so does economic mobility.
The precedent spreads. If they can dismantle HSI funding, every race-conscious support program is on the chopping block — scholarships, DEI initiatives, even local mentorship programs.
My Take
This is why I rage. This is why I write. Because I refuse to let bureaucrats in D.C. tell my story, or rewrite the history of how kids like me survive higher ed.
If this administration thinks it can quietly kill off Latino-serving programs while we’re out here celebrating our heritage, they’ve miscalculated. We see you. We remember. And we vote.
👉 Share this. Talk about it. Ask your alma mater if they’re affected. Write your representatives. Don’t let them do this in silence.
Because the truth is, without these grants, I might not be here writing these words. And that’s exactly why they want them gone.