Trump ties student loan relief to immigration agenda in new rule

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

By Courtney Rozen and Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration will move forward with its plan to exclude from a federal student loan forgiveness program nonprofits that violate laws central to his immigration agenda, according to a new regulation, making it harder for their employees to qualify for cancellation. 

The Trump administration is changing the criteria for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, a student debt cancellation initiative for Americans who spend part of their career working for a nonprofit, among other qualified roles. The Education Department will bar nonprofits it deems as “aiding and abetting violations of federal immigration laws” from the program, according to the new rule. The requirement takes effect in July 2026. 

The change is the latest instance of the Trump administration adding immigration-related conditions to long-standing federal programs. Nearly 43 million Americans have federal student loan debt, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.

The Education Department said nonprofits that advocate for immigrants or represent them in court will still be eligible. 

Decisions “will not be made based on the political views or policy preferences of the organization,” the department said in the regulation.

Democracy Forward, a left-leaning legal group, said it planned to challenge the rule in court. 

Trump in March called on the Education Department to exclude borrowers who work for organizations that “engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.”

(Reporting by Courtney Rozen and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Andrea Ricci)