On Oct. 23, the day after Daniel Gray's 56th birthday, he received an email that made him feel like he was dreaming: The U.S. Department of Education would forgive his more than $170,000 student loan balance .

"I could not believe it," Gray said. "This is the first time I've been without debt since I'm 18."

Yet the relief should not have been so surprising .

Gray began paying his student loan debt in the 1990s and was eligible for the loan cancellation under the terms of his income-driven repayment plan. IDR plans lead to loan erasure after a certain period, typically 20 years or 25 years. But, like many borrowers, Gray was worried by reports that the relief was becoming harder to access under the Trump administration.

"Because of what's been going on, it was unclear whether they

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