The Biden administration’s student debt relief plan announced this past summer is monumental for Latinos in particular: Roughly one- third are set to see their school debt eliminated outright under the initiative.
But following a number of Republican lawsuits, that relief has for now been paused. The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case in an expedited hearing, but declined to lift the lower court injunction. So for now, all that affected borrowers like Cristher Estrada-Pérez and her mom Daisy Pérez can do is wait.
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Estrada-Pérez told NBC News that her mom went to school to study nursing to relieve the family from financial struggles. She achieved her goal and became a registered nurse, but was also left with $90,000 in student debt. Estrada-Pérez is facing nearly that much in loans herself, at $80,000.
As Pell Grant recipients, both mom and daughter qualified for up to $20,000 in relief under the president’s plan. It in no way covers all their debt or even just the interest accumulated over the years, Estrada-Pérez told NBC News. But the Republican proposal has been zero. The Republican proposal has in fact been to go to court to challenge any sliver of relief for student borrowers.
“The onerous cost of higher education is a persistent challenge as communities continue to encourage college completion, especially for groups such as Latinos who lag in the number of adults with college degrees, with recent gains set back by the pandemic,” NBC News reported.
Latino advocacy organization UnidosUS said survey findings revealed that 38% of Latino respondents owed an average of $17,000 in debt. The overwhelming majority of respondents said they’d been unable to save for their retirement, and have been affected in their decision to buy a home. Sixty-six percent said they had to borrow money from family or friends to cover an emergency. “For those with student debt, this number jumps to 80%.”
“She’s never going to be able to own a home and earn enough to retire,” Estrada-Pérez said about her mom. Estrada-Pérez told NBC News she’s had her own dreams about going to law school. But it doesn’t look realistic at the moment. “I couldn’t think about what my debt would look like if I even attempted to go to law school,” she said in the report.
The Biden administration did extend the pause on student loan repayments through next June, Daily Kos’ Joan McCarter reported last month.
“’I’m confident that our student debt relief plan is legal. But it’s on hold because Republican officials want to block it,’ Biden said in a video release,” she wrote. “’We’re not going to back down though on our fight to give families breathing room,’ Biden continued, explaining the the Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the case.”
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