By Nada Hassanein, Stateline.org

Victoria Gomez de la Torre doesn’t know when — or if — the migrant children she serves are going to get the education help they’ve come to rely on.

Gomez de la Torre oversees the migrant education program for 12 central Florida counties. The federally funded service helps the children of migrant agricultural workers, who move within and between states based on planting and harvesting seasons.

Her staff identifies agricultural workers who’ve migrated to the area and helps them enroll their children in school. It also helps connect them with tutoring and medical care.

Earlier this summer, the Trump administration froze more than $6 billion in education funding, including money for migrant education, after-school programs, English-language programs for non-native speakers and other grants. Congress had already approved the money, but the administration said it wanted to conduct a review of the programs.

The administration announced last Friday it would release the remaining $5.5 billion of the money, after unfreezing $1.3 billion earlier this month.

But for Gomez de la Torre’s program, the damage had already been done: Without the money, it had to shut down this summer.

“We didn’t have enough money left over to carry the program,” said Joram Rejouis, the director of program development for the public schools in Alachua County, which includes Gainesville and is the largest of the 12 counties. “Definitely, stopping the program caused damage.”

The program came to a complete halt when Gomez de la Torre’s 11 staff members were offered other positions in the school district. Throughout July, about five dozen migrant children across the 12 counties were without summer services. The funds were supposed to go out before the start of the month.

“It’s going horrendously,” said Gomez de la Torre. “Migrant families depend on us, rely on our system and our help.”

The Alachua County program serves about 1,000 to 1,200 children of migrant workers throughout the year, many in rural farming communities. Each year, roughly 17,000 migrant children are served by programs across Florida.

“It is a very valuable program for a very vulnerable population,” Rejouis said. “Definitely, stopping the program caused damage, period — for the families, for the program and for the district.”

Migrant children are less likely to have regular primary care and are more likely to face health conditions such as anemia and high blood pressure. Many migrant families who harvest food in the fields don’t have enough food themselves.

The program also helps with communication and translation among parents, teachers and guidance counselors. “We were their go-to for whenever they needed something,” Gomez de la Torre said. “Now, they don’t have us.”

The freeze in funds added to the uncertainty and fear created by the Trump administration’s broader moves to target benefits for immigrants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced it had added Head Start to the list of public programs that would be closed to immigrants who are here illegally. After the funding announcement earlier this month, a senior official said the administration had established “guardrails” to ensure the funds are not used “in violation of Executive Orders.”

“It’s anybody’s guess when we’ll come back,” Gomez de la Torre said. “If we’ll come back. If people who chose to retire will return, if their retirement can be rescinded. … Nobody knows exactly how it’s going to play out.”

A similar story is unfolding in California.

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The statewide Mini Corps program, run by the Butte County Office of Education, north of Sacramento, connects migrant children at schools and labor camps with bilingual tutors who help them during the school day. Many of the tutors are former migrant children themselves, said Yvette Medina, who oversees the program.

The funding freeze forced the office to lay off around 400 workers statewide, according to spokesperson Travis Souders. Despite Friday’s announcement, the organization is waiting for official word — in writing — before reversing layoffs.

“There’s going to be many students out there who are just going to have another disadvantage to the disadvantages that we already have,” Medina said.

In Santa Clara County, which includes San Jose, the program was forced to shut down altogether, according to Medina.

Medina grew up in migrant labor camps, following her parents to the fields at 4 a.m. as they picked cherries and grapes before she went to school. Her parents worked throughout the Central Valley, back in Mexico and up and down the West Coast, all the way to Oregon.

“It is devastating,” she said. “If it wasn’t for the migrant program, I know for a fact there’s no way I would have graduated high school.”

Migrant families already are gripped with fear as the Trump administration ramps up immigration raids and arrests, which President Donald Trump insists are focused on those with criminal histories.

“They are terrified,” Gomez de la Torre said. “We had families stop sending kids to school and others who fled the country.”

Ruby Luis, a consultant who helps school districts across Florida identify and enroll migrant students in school, also was a migrant child. Her parents worked in orange groves, at strawberry and Christmas tree farms and produce-packing houses.

Program tutors read books with her and gave her school supplies. The program took her on college tours and she enrolled via a scholarship for migrant children — a first-generation college student. She eventually graduated with a degree in biology.

“Just having even somebody to talk to you about going to college — because you don’t have anybody to talk to about [that],” she said. “Having that support was really impactful.

“To take that away, and then now they just have to navigate it themselves, it creates these barriers,” Luis said. “And it can ultimately leave these children not having access to education.”

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By CORA LEWIS

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of student borrowers could begin having their wages garnished as soon as this summer, according to estimates from credit bureau TransUnion.

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The company predicts that by August roughly 3 million borrowers could move into default, meaning they’re 270 days past due on payments. At that point, loan holders are at risk of having 15% of their pay docked by the government, with the money going toward the outstanding debt. There has been no clear indication of when wage garnishment will start.

After the pandemic-era pause on student loan payments ended in May, borrowers have had to reassess the state of their loans and budgets. According to TransUnion, another 2 million borrowers are on course to default in September.

A Biden-administration grace period, during which late or missed payments were not counted against credit scores, ended in the fall.

Since then, millions of borrowers have seen hits to their credit ratings.

Here’s what to know:

What you can do to prepare

“The most important thing borrowers can do before administrative wage garnishment restarts is to log into studentaid.gov to check whether their federal student loans are in default and take steps now to remove them from default,” said Kyra Taylor, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.

Taylor said it’s not uncommon for borrowers to be unaware that their loans are in default. If borrowers attended college or graduate school during different periods of time, or if they have different federal loan types, they may also have multiple student loan servicers.

If that’s the case, you should act now to get your loans out of default and back into good standing by either entering a rehabilitation agreement, where you must make nine consecutive payments based on their income, or by consolidating your loans into a new federal Direct Loan.

“Because this hasn’t happened for so long, there are many people who have no idea they’re at risk,” said Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director at the Student Borrower Protection Center.

Wait times for student borrowers attempting to contact their loan servicers have been long, with many dropped calls, in part due to layoffs at the Education Department. Bañez recommends contacting your congressperson, using a casework tool that can guide you through submitting a constituent request.

“These offices have entire teams dedicated to constituent casework for when you have an issue with a federal agency, such as the Department of Education,” she said. “So you can request assistance from your member of congress — your representative or senator.”

What happens if you remain in default

Until past due payments are paid or the loan’s default status is resolved, borrowers are at risk of having up to 15% of their wages deducted directly from their paychecks.

The Department of Education has sent notices to borrowers warning that tax refunds and wages could be withheld starting this summer if borrowers don’t take steps to restart payments. The department hasn’t yet provided additional information on timing.

Richelle Brooks, 37, an education administrator based in Los Angeles, said she’s received warnings and notices about the resumption of collection of her loans. For several degrees, she still has $239,000 in outstanding debt, and she was informed her monthly payments on those loans will be roughly $3,000.

“I can’t afford it,” she said. “We just came out of the moratorium — not paying for five years. People getting these notices — they’re terrified. I’m uneasy, too.”

Brooks said she’s an informed borrower who stays up to date on each development and who knows her options. She plans to enroll in coding classes, at least half-time, which could place her loans in deferment, so she wouldn’t be required to make monthly payments, while she makes a financial plan.

Some options if you fear your wages will be garnished

There’s still time to take action.

According to Taylor, the Department of Education must provide 30 days notice before it sends a garnishment order to your employer. During that time, you can request a hearing to object by telling the department that the garnishment would cause you financial hardship. You can also request that the department reduce the amount being garnished and submit documentation about your income and expenses.

To do this, you must make your hearing request in writing, postmarked no later than 30 days after the garnishment order. Your loan holder will then arrange the hearing. If you’re unsure who your loan holder is, you can contact the Education Department’s Default Resolution Group.

If you were laid off from your last job, you can also object to garnishment if you have not been in your current job for 12 consecutive months. You can further request a hearing and object if you submitted an application for certain kinds of statutory discharges and those have not yet been decided. Some common reasons for statutory discharge of student loans include: if the school you attended closed before you could complete your degree, if your school owes you a refund but fails to pay it, if you’re experiencing total disability, or if you’re experiencing bankruptcy.

“If the borrower requests a hearing within 30 days after receiving the garnishment notice, the department cannot start garnishment until it issues a decision on the borrower’s objections and financial hardship request,” Taylor said.

You can request a hearing after the 30 day period is up, but in those cases the department will generally not stop garnishing your wages while the hearing request is pending.

The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Thai and Cambodian officials met in Malaysia on Monday for the first round of cross-border committee talks since a tense ceasefire was brokered last week after five days of deadly armed border clashes that killed dozens and displaced over 260,000 people.

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The four-day General Border Committee meetings were initially due to be hosted by Cambodia, but both sides later agreed to a neutral venue in Malaysia, the annual chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has mediated the halt in hostilities last month.

The July 28 ceasefire followed economic pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who had warned the two warring nations that the U.S. would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting persisted. Washington lowered tariffs on goods from the two countries from 36% to 19% on Aug. 1 following the truce.

Monday’s talks focused on ironing out details to avoid further clashes. Discussions of the decades-long competing territorial claims over the pockets of land near the shared border are not on the agenda.

Thailand and Cambodia have been feuding neighbors for centuries, since both were mighty empires. In modern times, a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice awarding Cambodia the land on which the ancient Preah Vihear temple stands marked a new low point in relations, and other border territory remained claimed by both countries.

Fighting erupted in 2011 at Preah Vihaer, after which the International Court of Justice in 2013 reaffirmed its earlier ruling, rankling Thailand. Relations deteriorated again sharply in May this year, when a Cambodian soldier was shot dead in a brief fracas in one of the disputed border zones, setting off diplomatic and trade sanctions, one against the other.

Soon after two incidents last month in which Thai soldiers were wounded by land mines in disputed territory, for which Thailand blamed Cambodia, the two sides downgraded diplomatic relations and fighting broke out, each side blaming the other for starting the armed clashes.

File – In this photo released by the Government Spokesman Office, Military attaches from various countries visit a hospital that was damaged after Cambodia fired artillery shells in Sisaket province, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (The Government Spokesman Office via AP, File)

The talks this week will include finalizing details and scope of reference for an ASEAN monitoring team, Malaysian Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Mohamad Nizam Jaffar said Monday.

Despite some reports of attacks after the ceasefire came into effect, Nizam said such incidents were typical spillover violence and both sides showed strong committment during Monday’s talks to uphold the ceasefire.

The main session of the General Border Committee on Thursday will be led by Thai Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Natthaphon Nakpanit and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister cum Defense Minister Tea Seih and include observers from Malaysia, the United States and China, officials said.

Despite the truce, tensions have persisted as both countries organized tours of the former battle areas for foreign diplomats and other observers to highlight damage allegedly caused by the other side. The two countries also continue to accuse each other of having violated international humanitarian laws with attacks on civilians and the use of illegal weapons.

By MATTHEW LEE, AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many.

In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, the department said it would start a 12-month pilot program under which people from countries deemed to have high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls could be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 when they apply for a visa.

The proposal comes as the Trump administration is tightening requirements for visa applicants. Last week, the State Department announced that many visa renewal applicants would have to submit to an additional in-person interview, something that was not required in the past. In addition, the department is proposing that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery program have valid passports from their country of citizenship.

A preview of the bond notice, which was posted on the Federal Register website on Monday, said the pilot program would take effect within 15 days of its formal publication and is necessary to ensure that the U.S. government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the terms of his or her visa.

“Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program,” the notice said.

The countries affected will be listed once the program takes effect, it said.

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The bond would not apply to citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program and could be waived for others depending on an applicant’s individual circumstances.

Visa bonds have been proposed in the past but have not been implemented. The State Department has traditionally discouraged the requirement because of the cumbersome process of posting and discharging a bond and because of a possible misperceptions by the public.

However, the department said that previous view “is not supported by any recent examples or evidence, as visa bonds have not generally been required in any recent period.”