The Office of Federal Relations is hosting a virtual Federal Relations Town Hall on November 17th from 10am-11am PT to discuss updates on appropriations, UW federal priorities, and other relevant federal activities. After the presentation there will be an opportunity for a Q&A.
Registration is open to all members of the UW community and can be filled out here. Once you register you will receive a confirmation email which has the Zoom link to be used the day of. We hope to see you there!
Ever since the announcement of the federal student loan relief program, the Biden administration has been facing a slew of legal challenges by conservative states. Six GOP-led states filed a complaint alleging that the program was an illegal use of authority, and that the policy would have negative economic impacts on their states. Last Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the states did not have the standing to sue as they failed to prove that the policy directly harms them, stating that the claims were too speculative. The states quickly appealed the decision and on Friday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay that bars the administration from granting student loan relief until the court officially rules on the request to block the policy.
The temporary stay does not stop eligible borrowers from applying for relief nor does it stop the administration from reviewing applications, however the administration cannot officially forgive the debt until the decision is made. The administration has expressed confidence that the program will survive the legal challenges and that they will be able to proceed with forgiving debt for the almost 22 million people who have already submitted the application. The court is expected to act quickly on this case but it is unclear how potential future legal challenges may impact the program – in the meantime borrowers are encouraged to keep submitting their applications. The office will continue to monitor and provide updates on the program and potential legal challenges as they unfold. More information can be found here and the application can be found here.
This week, President Biden announced the formal launch of the application for federal student loan relief which should take under 5 minutes to complete. To access the application, go to studentaid.gov and click “Apply Now”. From there, you will need to fill out basic information including your name, birth date, social security number, phone number, and email address, but you will not need to attach any documentation. After filling out the personal information, you will have to acknowledge that you meet the income eligibility requirements and then you are ready to submit. The Education Department may reach out to you directly if they require any additional information. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for federal loan forgiveness as long as they meet the income requirements, and all applicants can expect to see the relief within 4-6 weeks of submitting the application form.
On October 5th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a 2021 ruling that struck down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The 2021 decision by Judge Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found that the program is illegal, stating that the Obama administration did not have the authority to institute the DACA program the way that they did – under a memorandum by the Department of Homeland Security.
The October 5th decision did not end the program — DACA recipients who are already enrolled in the program are still protected and their work authorizations are still valid. Those that are already enrolled can also continue to renew their DACA grants, however first-time applications are still not being processed.
Back in late August, the Biden administration released a new rule that codifies the DACA program into federal regulation that would go into effect on October 31st. In its ruling, the Fifth Circuit sent the case back to Judge Hanen in Texas to consider the impact of the administration’s new rule and judge its legality. The new rule has a similar structure as the current DACA program and faces similar limitations – even if Judge Hanan rules positively on Biden’s rule, it cannot provide Dreamers with permanent legal status or fully protect them from legal challenges in the future. Only Congress can fully protect Dreamers.
After the decision from the Fifth Circuit, President Biden, along with several advocacy groups, called on Congress to pass permanent protection for DACA recipients. The House already passed a bill in March of 2021 to provide Dreamers with a pathway to citizenship, but the Senate has not considered it so far. Some Democratic senators have called for Congress to pass DACA legislation during the lame duck period after the midterms but the biggest hurdle for Democrats to pass immigration legislation is the Senate filibuster – they will need all 50 Democrats and 10 Republicans to agree to a bill. So far this has seemed unlikely, but it still could be the best chance for Democrats, especially if Republicans take the majority in the House or the Senate in the next Congress.
If Biden’s rule is struck down again, further appeals are expected and DACA is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court this term or next term. This would be the third time that a case regarding the DACA program has been taken up by the Supreme Court. The first time, in 2016, the Court was deadlocked at 4-4 which ended up blocking an expanded version of DACA. The second was in 2020 when the Court ruled 5-4 that the Trump administration improperly ended DACA, which allowed it to stay in place. This would be the first time that the current, more conservative leaning Court would hear a case regarding the legality of the program itself.
UW recognizes in its 2022 Federal Agenda the need for comprehensive immigration reform which includes a permanent legal fix for DACA-eligible recipients and their families. The office will continue to monitor and provide updates on DACA in Congress and in the courts.
More information about the decision can be found here and here.
The application for student loan forgiveness has not officially launched yet, but the Education Department recently released more details on the application, which should be available in October. The White House said it will not start canceling loans until after October 23rd due to legal challenges, but borrowers should expect to get the relief within four to six weeks of applying. It is recommended that borrowers fill out the application by November 15 to receive relief by January when the payment pause expires, which reduces the possibility of confusion or errors when payments begin again.
According to a preview of the application, applicants will need to fill in basic information including name, birth date, phone number, email address, and social security number and will not require any documentation. The application can be done on a desktop computer or a mobile phone and will be available in English or in Spanish. While it won’t require proof of income, borrowers will need to self-attest that they fall under the income threshold (see below).
The income threshold considers a person’s adjusted gross income (AGI) which can be found on line 11 of your federal tax return. To qualify for relief, a borrower’s AGI in 2020 or 2021 must have been:
The Education Department said they will notify about 8 million people by email who will have their debt canceled automatically without having to apply because their income data is already filed: borrowers who filed a FAFSA for the 2022-2023 school year and borrowers who are enrolled in income-driven repayment programs. It is still recommended that all borrowers who qualify for forgiveness fill out the official application to avoid any errors.
Anyone who made payments on their federal student loans during the payment pause from March 13, 2020 to now is eligible to request a refund from their loan servicer. To request a refund, the Department of Education recommends contacting the borrower’s specific loan servicer and following their instructions.
The office will post when the applications go live. A preview of what the loan forgiveness application will look like on both a computer and mobile device can be found here and more information about student loan relief can be found here.