A federal judge out of Fort Worth has thrown out President Biden's student loan forgiveness program.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman declared the policy was unlawful after a conservative group filed suit alleging the administration violated procedures. They argued borrowers who do not qualify for the program were not given a chance to provide public comment.
Thursday night’s order follows last month's decision by a federal appeals court which put the program on hold pending a lawsuit filed by six states. The White House has promised to fight all the suits that have been filed.
Meanwhile, those who have submitted applications through the relief program are left to wait.
Ixchell Ibanez is a junior at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. With college graduation approaching, she'll soon face the burden of several thousand dollars in student loan debt.
“It's stressful to know that once I finish, which is coming by fast, I'll have all this debt to deal with,” she said.
She's the first in her family to pursue a college degree and says there was no way around it.
“The process of applying to colleges was all completely new to me and my family,” Ibanez said. “And since I come from a lower income background, we had to accept some loans.”
She was excited to hear about President Joe Biden's Student Loan Relief Program forgiving up to $20,000 in student debt. But just as soon as the program launched, lawsuits were filed.
Six states turned to the U.S. court of appeals after a federal judge dismissed their case to halt the loan forgiveness program.
The court of appeals granted a stay - meaning, for now, student loan debt will not be cleared under the program. But they've yet to lift the stay or move forward with an injunction.
Dallas appellate lawyer Chad Ruback said there's something to be said for how long it's taking.
“The fact that the court of appeals is taking almost three weeks now, indicates to me this is a close call for them on which direction to go,” Ruback said. “If it were an easy call, if they knew how to handle this matter, they would've already issued their decision on this.”
As for the decision from a Texas federal judge to strike down the program, Ruback said there's a potential for multiple rulings as the program is challenged in various courts.
“Even if the court of appeals decides these six states don't have standing, that doesn't mean there won't be other litigation in other states in other forums,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ibanez and others across the country are forced to wait.
“I'm still very hopeful that in the end, it will go through,” she said.
The Biden Administration has not yet responded to Thursday night’s ruling out of Texas. Payments on federal student loans were paused in 2020 due to the pandemic - but are scheduled to resume next year.
