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Thursday, Jul. 31, 2025

Will proposed Trump administration budget cuts affect first-generation college students in Arizona?

Tallulah Anne, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
yes

The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget would cut more than $1 billion in federal funding for programs that help first-generation college students — potentially affecting more than 1,300 students at Arizona’s public universities. 

Among the targeted initiatives is TRIO, which helps first-generation and low-income students stay on track for college through grants, academic and career advising, tutoring and financial literacy education. The proposed budget includes no funding for TRIO programs such as Student Support Services or Veterans Upward Bound. It also eliminates funding for GEAR UP, which serves middle and high school students aspiring to become the first in their families to attend college. 

Currently, federal TRIO funding supports 820 students at Arizona State University and an additional 491 at the University of Arizona. The administration has already canceled TRIO’s Upward Bound program at Pima Community College, which previously served nearly 1,500 high school students preparing for college.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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