Laredo Job Corps center closes after Department of Labor notice; city, congressman and staff coordinate student transfers

City of Laredo officials and Laredo Job Corps staff told the city council on June 2 that the federally funded residential training center received a Department of Labor notice this week that suspended the program nationwide, prompting an immediate closure and relocation effort.

Alejandra Aceves, center director for the Laredo Job Corps Center, said the campus has a capacity of 220 students and that Friday’s active on-campus count was 94. She told council members about 50 students were nonresident commuters and that, after staff work over the weekend, most students were returned to home communities; three students remained in campus housing because they disclosed having nowhere safe to go.

Aceves said the center partners with Workforce Solutions and local employers, and she reported 36 local businesses participate in the center’s internship program. She said the center historically ranked in the top five to 10 nationally among Job Corps centers and that staff moved quickly to find placements and transport students after receiving notice.

City council members asked for specifics about student and staff impacts. Aceves said roughly 49 employees were affected; she said 36 staffers were laid off on Friday and additional separations occurred afterward. She and other speakers did not supply a single, final headcount for layoffs beyond those figures during the meeting.

Aceves and a Job Corps academic manager, Jose Jimenez, described student success stories from the center’s vocational and academic programs, noting graduates have gone on to apprenticeship programs, military service and local employment. Council members and staff discussed housing and placement options for students who could not immediately return home; Aceves said staff were arranging temporary accommodations, rooming options with other students and potential rental placements while they worked on longer-term transitions.

City staff and council members said they had been notified late and moved rapidly to assist. Councilmembers and the mayor praised center staff for moving students and coordinating with Congress member offices. Council discussion also included questions about the program’s budget and cost per student. Aceves provided two figures during the meeting: an initial statement that “we’re looking at minimum $3,640,000 a year depending on their need,” and later a per‑student range she cited as “minimum $36,000 a year to up to $60,000,” framed by her as an example of the residential program’s per‑student costs for housing, medical care and supports.

No formal council action or vote was taken; councilmembers asked staff to continue communications with federal offices and workforce partners and to report back with any needs for city assistance.

This account is based on remarks by Alejandra Aceves (Laredo Job Corps center director) and other presenters at the June 2, 2025 City of Laredo council meeting.