Trump links student loan forgiveness to immigration agenda in new rule
By Courtney Rozen and Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Student loan borrowers who work at nonprofits that don’t cooperate with President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda won’t be eligible for forgiveness under a rule the Education Department announced on Thursday.
The Trump administration is changing the criteria for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, a student debt cancellation program for Americans who spend part of their career working for a nonprofit, among other qualified roles.
The change is the latest instance of the Trump administration adding immigration-related conditions to long-standing federal programs.
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.”
Nearly 43 million Americans have federal student loan debt, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
(Reporting by Courtney Rozen and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
