Oasis Legal Services Joins Coalition Suing Trump-Vance Administration for Weaponizing Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Suit Seeks to Halt Radical PSLF Rewrite in United Front Against Department of Education’s Unconstitutional Attack on Teachers, Nurses, First Responders, and Advocates
November 3, 2025 | BOSTON — A broad coalition of over a dozen cities, labor unions, and nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in Boston, MA. The suit charges the Trump-Vance Administration with illegally hijacking the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to silence governments and nonprofit organizations that do work the Administration doesn’t like. The Administration’s action breaks a decades-old bipartisan Congressional promise to support those who choose to dedicate their careers to public service.
Public service employers and organizations representing public service workers warn that any effort to weaponize PSLF will have a chilling effect on the entire public service workforce. For example, cities across the nation employ teachers, firefighters, social workers, and healthcare workers who risk losing access to debt relief should the Trump-Vance Administration seek to punish their city for policies they do not like.
“LGBTQ+ asylum seekers have endured persecution simply for living authentically. They depend on compassionate advocates who understand their experiences and fight for their safety under U.S. law, says Adam Ryan Chang, Executive Director at Oasis Legal Services. “The Department of Education’s attack on Public Service Loan Forgiveness endangers the very people who make this work possible: our attorneys and advocates who stand with LGBTQ+ immigrants every day. Oasis Legal Services will fight relentlessly to protect our staff and the communities we serve from unlawful, discriminatory policies.”
Plaintiffs include City of Albuquerque, City of Boston, City of Chicago, City and County of San Francisco, County of Santa Clara, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Legal Aid DC, National Association of Social Workers, National Council of Nonprofits, Oasis Legal Services, AFT, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and National Education Association. The coalition is represented by Protect Borrowers and Democracy Forward in this matter; the County of Santa Clara and City and County of San Francisco represent themselves.
A copy of the lawsuit, captioned National Council of Nonprofits et al. v. McMahon, is available here.
A Spanish translation of this press release is available here.
Quotes from plaintiffs are available here.