Borrowers will begin receiving wage garnishment notices starting January 7, the Department of Education has confirmed.
Published December 23, 2025
President Donald Trump’s administration has announced it will begin garnishing paychecks from some borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans, marking the first time the federal government has taken such action since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
An Education Ministry spokesperson told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that affected borrowers will begin receiving notifications from January 7.
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The policy is expected to initially affect approximately 1,000 borrowers, with that number expected to increase over time.
“Notifications will increase in size each month,” the spokesperson said.
Al Jazeera asked the ministry to explain how the first round of seizures were selected, how many more people may be affected, and the basis for its decisions.
The agency did not specify, but said any recoveries would occur “only after student and parent borrowers have been given sufficient notice and opportunity to repay.”
Under federal law, the government can garnish up to 15% of a borrower’s take-home pay only if the individual is paid at least 30 times the federal minimum wage per week. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, a rate that has remained unchanged since July 2009.
Approximately 1 in 6 American adults has student loan debt, totaling approximately $1.6 trillion. As of April, more than 5 million borrowers had not made a payment for at least a year, according to the Department of Education.
The foreclosures are planned as rising prices and a cooling labor market increase economic pressure for many Americans. Employment growth will slow and more than 1.1 million people will lose their jobs by 2025, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Federal data also showed mixed employment trends in recent months, with a decline in employment reported in October and then a slight increase in November.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in October and November, the highest since 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Families are being forced to choose between paying their bills and putting food on the table, and the Trump administration’s decision to begin garnishing wages will take away even that sliver of choice from student loan borrowers who are living on the brink,” Julie Margetta Morgan, who served as deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Education under former President Joe Biden, told Al Jazeera.
“Instead of solving the economic crisis that is keeping Americans from paying their student loans, the president is further punishing families and forcing them to forego basics.”
In addition to wages, the federal government has the power to garnish income from tax refunds, Social Security benefits, and certain disability benefits.
