ATLANTA — More than 1.7 million Georgians have student loan debt, and new measures from the Department of Education means some of them could have their paychecks garnished this year.

According to Mike Pierce with the group Protect Borrowers, 1 in 5 georgia borrowers are behind in their payments.

“You would imagine that there are a universe of 100,000 or 200,000 people in Georgia that could be subject to wage garnishment by the end of the year,” said Pierce.

Pierce believes these new regulations will hurt low-income former students, many of whom didn’t even finish their degree.