For Latinos, ruling against student debt forgiveness in the US is “heartbreaking”

Congressmen and Latino groups lamented this Friday that Latinos and people of color will be the most affected by the “piercing” failure of United States Supreme Court which puts an end to the Joe Biden government’s plan to cancel the student debt of millions of university students.

In a decision of the conservative majority of the court, and which was opposed by the three progressive judges, including the Hispanic, Sonia Sotomayor, the court considered that the Administration of Biden did not have the right to approve the cancellation of part of the student loans.

The League of United Latino American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest and largest Latino organization in the country, showed itself “incredulous” of the decision, noting that between 2004 and 2016 individual student debt increased by 60% to an average of $15,797.

“After starting to make payments, 36% of Latinos will end up owing more than they originally did after starting college twelve years earlier”, he detailed.

Among Latino college students who started college after 2012, more than half (51%) borrowed funds to pay for their college or graduate education, he noted. LULAC.

He highlighted that in 2021, 18% of Latino borrowers reported being behind on their student loan debt compared to 9% of white borrowers.

Congressman from New Mexico Gabe Vasquez said that the rulingwill disproportionately affect students of color”, who are the most affected by the crisis.

He explained on Twitter that most Latinos owe 83% of their initial student loan 12 years after finishing college.

For his part, California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla said he was “frustrated and disappointed” and called Biden’s federal forgiveness plan “one of the largest efforts to close the racial equity gap in American history.”

Congressman for California Jimmy Gomez He stressed that students carry loans for decades, as it happens to him.

The Democrat says he graduated in 2003 and is still $44,000 in debt. “Although I am able to pay, many are not. And this is about them”, he indicated.

In this sense, the director of Latino Victory Project, Sindy BenavidesHe stated in a statement that “Latinos, like all Americans, deserve to achieve their dreams without having to put their future on hold.”

Seven in ten Latinos nationwide cite financial hardship as an obstacle to earning a bachelor’s degree, according to data from Latin Victory.

“It is a heartbreaking decision, one that is not taken lightly, with the understanding that Latinos and people of color will bear the brunt of this ruling.”, Benavides assessed.

Maria Theresa Kumarpresident of the Voto Latino organization, said in a statement that the decision “entrenches inequity and allows the burden of student loan debt to disparately affect Black and Latino communities”.

In a written decision, the president of the court, john robertsexplained that US law allows the secretary of Education, michael cardona“make modest adjustments and additions to existing regulations (…), not transform them”.

After learning of the ruling, Biden promised in a statement that “the battle is not over” and that he will announce new measures to end the debt.

The Latino community receives this ruling as a new blow, one day after another Supreme Court decision eliminated the use of race as a factor in the university admissions process.

In this regard, the judge sotomayorwho disagreed with the ruling, noted that “equal educational opportunity is a prerequisite for achieving racial equality in our nation.”

Latino groups believe that yesterday’s ruling will hinder access to higher education for historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups.

Source: EFE