We’re going to continue to fight to protect these programs.
Continue to fight to protect Minority Serving Institution programs and federal support for them.
Occurrences
Evidence
Juan Vargas condemned the Trump Administration’s announcement that it would no longer defend the Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant program in court, saying it would effectively end the program and take away federal support from colleges and students served by these institutions.
On April 22, 2026, Vargas joined Senator Mazie Hirono, Senator Alex Padilla, national education advocates, and students to raise the alarm about Trump Administration efforts to dismantle the Department of Education and defund Minority Serving Institution programs created by Congress.
Assessments
The promise was framed as continued advocacy rather than enactment of a specific statutory result. In federal office, Vargas took same-term public actions opposing efforts to defund or dismantle Minority Serving Institution and Hispanic-Serving Institution support, including joining a 2026 advocacy event and issuing a 2025 official statement against ending HSI grant support. These actions materially satisfy the pledge to continue fighting to protect MSI programs and federal support, though they do not show the broader policy threat was fully resolved.