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The administration of President Donald Trump is making changes to a popular student loan relief program that has helped borrowers across the U.S. The administration issued a new rule on Thursday that affects the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The program allows people in public-service fields like nursing, firefighting, teaching and some nonprofit work to have their student debt canceled after they make 10 years of payments. The program had been mismanaged for years and provided little relief, but the Biden administration overhauled it. The program has since forgiven billions in loans for over a million people, according to USA Today. The Trump administration is now attempting to rein in the program. The rule issued Thursday makes it easier to push out employers who engage in activities the administration deems to have “a substantial illegal purpose,” according to The New York Times. Workers at such employers would be ineligible for forgiveness under the program. Employers affected by the rule could include groups that work with undocumented immigrants, for example, or provide gender-affirming care to people under age 19, the Times said. The administration says taxpayer funds shouldn’t subsidize illegal activities, according to the Times. Critics argue that the new rule gives the government tools to politicize the loan forgiveness program and target groups that don’t align with its values. Many people in public service have staked their financial futures on the program, the Times said. Being disqualified could upend their finances. Employers would have the right to appeal if they are removed from the program, according to The Washington Post. The rule takes effect July 1. According to the Post, the Education Department considers illegal activities under the rule to include: Aiding and abetting violations of federal immigration laws. Supporting terrorism or engaging in violence for the purpose of obstructing or influencing federal government policy. Engaging in the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children in violation of federal or state law. Engaging in the trafficking of children to another state for purposes of emancipation from their lawful parents in violation of federal or state law. Engaging in a pattern of aiding and abetting illegal discrimination. Advocacy groups and critical lawmakers worry the rule politicizes the program and introduces unnecessary complexity. They say the rules contain ambiguity that would allow arbitrary disqualifications, according to the Post. “The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was meant to support Americans who dedicate their careers to public service — not to subsidize organizations that violate the law, whether by harboring illegal immigrants or performing prohibited medical procedures that attempt to transition children away from their biological sex,” Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement Thursday, according to the Post. Advocates for student loan borrowers called the new rules illegal and plan to sue, according to USA Today. “Instead of supporting first responders, healthcare workers, and teachers working to make our country a better place, the Trump Administration is punishing public servants for their employers’ perceived political views,” said Aaron Ament, the president of the National Student Legal Defense Network. “We will file a lawsuit in the next few days and challenge this illegal overreach.” Elsewhere on the student loan front, the Trump administration recently agreed to cancel loans under a program it had previously blocked.
