As feds target Hispanic-serving colleges, AZ advocates warn of impact to Latino students

The Trump administration is continuing its scrutiny of post-secondary institutions, now setting its sights on a $350 million grant program that supports Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).

The U.S. Department of Education designates HSI status to public and private post-secondary academic institutions that have at least 25% of their student population identifying as Hispanic or Latino and show that at least half of its student population qualifies for need-based financial aid. 

These grants allow institutions to expand their academic resources to its students, renovate and build educational facilities and even purchase learning materials for students, as well as buy lab and science-related equipment. 

The designation has been awarded to hundreds of institutions in at least 30 states, including Puerto Rico, since 1995.

However, in June, the state of Tennessee and advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education seeking to end the designation offered under Title V of the Higher Education Act. In the claim, SFFA argues that HSI grants are “discriminatory” and leave out schools that don't have the required 25% Hispanic population but are made up of other ethnic groups, while still having a significant amount of students who are on need-based Pell grants. 

“The State of Tennessee operates many colleges and universities. Every one of them serves Hispanic students. Every one of them serves low-income students. But not one of them qualifies to receive grants under the HSI program. Why? Because they don’t have the right mix of ethnicities on campus,” the complaint states. “Funds should help needy students regardless of their immutable traits, and the denial of those funds harms students of all races.”

The lawsuit names the U.S. Department of Education and Education Secretary Linda McMahon as defendants.

The U.S. Justice Department, however, refused to defend the constitutionality of the program in a letter sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson, agreeing with SFFA plaintiffs.

SFFA president Edward Blum wrote in a press release that the lawsuit's intention is not to deny access to higher education to any racial or ethnic group, but rather “it is about ensuring that opportunity is extended to everyone on an equal basis.” 

Anaiise Ballesteros, vice president of All In Education, said Blum’s actions don’t reflect his words, saying that there are other ways to help less represented communities without targeting HSI funding.

“I think there are just underlying issues with that statement, because if, I'm assuming, his concern is that students aren't getting an equal opportunity, [HSI funding] exists to give students an equitable opportunity to access college,” Ballesteros said. “It doesn't just impact Latino students. It actually supports entire campuses.” 

Ballesteros emphasized that funding given because of HSI status doesn’t take funding from schools that don’t have HSI status, but, on the contrary, HSIs tend to be underfunded. 

“HSIs are mostly underfunded institutions, and they receive about $3,000 per student, compared to like $4,000 per student for non-HSIs,” Ballesteros said. “HSI just means you get funding from one bucket that another institution wouldn't. It doesn't mean that they're necessarily getting more money. They're just getting money from one bucket that another one wouldn't get.” 

Even as HSIs face funding problems, they continue to play a significant role in educating a large number of students. 

According to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), HSIs have provided higher education for more than 5.6 million students nationwide. A 2024 analysis by HACU found that HSIs in Arizona serve 274,590 students, when only 93,387 enrolled college students identified as Hispanic students in the state. 

Arizona's three public universities — Arizona State University (ASU), University of Arizona (UA) and Northern Arizona University — and all ten Maricopa Community Colleges (MCC) have an HSI designation. When looking at what the funding goes towards, MCC spokeswoman Lindsey Wilson explained.

“Last year, grants from our HSI designation at six colleges funded services benefiting all students, including career services, embedded tutoring, dual enrollment and classroom and equipment upgrades,” Wilson said in an email. “Each year, grants received through our HSI designation bring meaningful investments to our colleges that help tens of thousands of students thrive, strengthen Arizona's workforce, and ensure the success of future generations.” 

Students who could be affected by a possible cutoff of the HSI grant include Allison Castillo, a sophomore who is a part of ASU’s Hispanic student organization, El Concilio. Castillo voiced her concerns about the lawsuit, saying that first-generation students would worry about another barrier placed in their pursuit of a higher education. 

“Something like this going on would definitely hurt our communities, definitely discourage students from maybe finding the necessary resources to succeed,” Castillo said. “They need these types of grants and funding in order to get advising, tutoring and financial aid from these grants.”

Castillo agreed with Ballesteros, reiterating that HSI funding “levels the playing field” for students. 

“The point is not to give an unfair advantage. Instead, it's to recognize and try to alleviate these long, long-standing disparities within the system of higher education, especially within Latinos and Hispanic students,” Castillo said. “It's important to recognize that it's already hard as it is for a lot of students, considering their backgrounds, especially Hispanic students, to succeed in these systems of higher education. It’s really important to support these grants, because they're just trying to push ahead and support students.” 

Castillo has received her education through HSIs. As a high schooler, she completed dual-enrollment classes at Pima Community College and, upon graduation, enrolled at ASU. She was able to participate in dual enrollment, free of charge, along with other students who went on to transfer those credits to their respective colleges. 

ASU said that it would continue to “advance serving every learner ready to learn from any family” in a statement, while Mitch Zak, a UA spokesperson, stated, “We are aware of the Justice Department’s announcement and continue to monitor the legal process.”

How the Tennessee case will proceed remains unclear. Before the DOJ announcement, HACU and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a national civil and human rights organization, filed a motion to intervene, attempting to act as the defendant, predicting that the federal government would not go on the defensive. Now that HSI grant funding has been left without a legal defense, it is yet to be decided if the court will allow HACU to participate.

Ghadiel Navarrete is a freelance reporter based in Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated in 2024 from ASU with a bachelor’s in Political Science and Journalism.