US Marshals are arresting people who haven’t paid back student loans

“I just couldn’t believe that I was standing before the court, with no rights read to me, no legal representation, and I’d been told that I owed $1,500”. His balance was $1,500.

Gene Green, a Texas congressman, explained to Fox 26 that the federal government has contracted private debt collectors to take over the recuperation of their student loans. Fox 26 in Houston reported that a Texas man was arrested by federal marshals over a 29-year-old student debt.

Sputnik News noted the arrests are occurring as student loan debt has become a high-profile topic of debate, and a key point in the Democratic presidential primaries.

“I just couldn’t believe it”, he said.

Paul Aker, 48, tells the New York Daily News and a local Fox broadcast affiliate that a coterie of heavily armed US Marshals showed up at his door in Houston last Thursday. In addition to having a loan balance that grows with late fees, debt collection fees and interest, people who default on federal student loans face wage garnishment, seizure of tax refunds and reduction in other government benefits.

“They can and do – literally do – pursue debtors to their graves”, Heather Jarvis, a student-loan expert who advises people on how to manage their debt, told Vice News previous year. With a judge’s permission, those collectors can in turn use the U.S. Marshal Service to track down those who owe money.

They have to serve anywhere from 1200 to 1500 warrants to people who have failed to pay their federal student loans.

Nearly 71 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients graduate with a student loan, and those graduating in 2015 have an average debt from school of over $35,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.