Portland State University dodges impact of new federal rules on undocumented students

Published 1:33 pm Monday, March 31, 2025

The U.S. Education Department under the Trump administration announced on March 27 that a waiver, allowing Oregon colleges and universities to serve undocumented students with federal funds, has been revoked.

While Portland State University does serve undocumented students, it looks like the new rules won’t impact PSU.

“We have reviewed the recent communication from the Department of Education about the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3) waiver, and although we have an active TRIO program at Portland State, we were not making use of the waiver,” spokesperson Katy Swordfisk told the Tribune. “To the best of our knowledge, PSU students will not be impacted at this time.”

The waivers — which had applied to Oregon and California schools — came under the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth. Congress created it in 2014. It authorizes states to enter into pilot programs to use funding from across multiple federal programs to support efforts to improve the systems serving students.

According to the U.S. Education Department, the Biden administration allowed Oregon and California schools to receive TRIO Program services. The TRIO Programs are federal student aid projects authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act designed to identify and provide additional academic and career services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In a Monday, March 27, press release, James Bergeron, acting undersecretary of education, wrote, “American taxpayer dollars will no longer be used to subsidize illegal immigrants through Department of Education programs…. The TRIO Program was designed to provide support and guidance to disadvantaged Americans as they navigate the road to and through postsecondary education. The department will not allow the true purpose of the program to be corrupted to advance an American-last agenda.”

The U.S. Department of Education sent notices to the colleges and universities through the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission and the California Higher Education Collaborative on Monday.

PSU’s website offers a page to assist undocumented students in getting enrolled. The page includes information on the Oregon Student Aid Application process, which can be used in lieu of federal financial aid for students who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, or Temporary Protected Status, known as DACA and TPS.

There also is scholarship information and information about Oregon House Bill 2787, signed into law in 2013, which allows Oregon colleges and universities to grant undocumented Oregon students the resident, or in-state, tuition rate, if they meet specific criteria.

Oregon’s HB 2787 was amended to remove further restrictions in 2015 and 2018.

Since 2016, Portland State has identified itself as a “sanctuary campus.” Which means Campus Public Safety does not enforce federal immigration law; PSU will not consent to immigrant enforcement actions on campus; and the colleges will protect the confidentiality of student records as required by law.