President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the Department of Justice to end its reliance on private prisons and recognize the central role the government has played in implementing discriminatory housing policies.
In remarks before signing the orders, Mr. Biden said the US government should change “its whole approach” the issue of racial equality. He added that the country is less prosperous and safe due to the scourge of systemic racism.
“We need to change now,” the president said. “I know it’s going to take time, but I know we can do it. And I firmly believe that the country is ready to change. But the government must change, too.”
The order to end the dependence on private prisons orders the Attorney General not to renew the contracts of the Department of Justice with criminal detention facilities. The move will effectively put the Department of Justice back in the same position as at the end of the Obama administration.
“This is a first step in preventing businesses from taking advantage of confinement,” he said. Biden said.
Mr. Biden became president during a year of intense reckoning with institutional racism in the United States. The actions announced on Tuesday reflect his efforts to continue with the promises of the campaign to combat racial injustice.
In addition to appealing to the Department of Justice to curb the use of private prisons and address housing discrimination, the new orders will again commit the federal government to respecting the sovereignty of the tribe and discriminating against Asian Americans. and deny the Pacific Islander community due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The more than 14,000 federal inmates housed in privately run facilities represent a fraction of the nearly 152,000 federal inmates currently incarcerated.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has already decided in recent months not to renew private prison contracts because the number of prisoners has decreased and thousands have been locked up in the house due to the coronavirus pandemic.
GEO Group, a private company that operates federal prisons, called the Biden order “a solution to a problem.”
“Given the steps already announced by the BOP, today’s Executive Order merely represents a political statement that could have serious negative unintended consequences, including the loss of hundreds of jobs and negative economic impact on the communities where our facilities are located, which already struggling economically due to the COVID pandemic, “a spokesman for the GEO group said in a statement.
David Fathi, director of the American Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties, noted that the order does not end the dependence of the federal government on private immigration detention centers.
“The order signed today is an important first step towards recognizing the damage done and taking steps to repair it, but President Biden is obliged to do more, especially given his history. and promises, “Fathi said.
Rashad Robinson, president of the national racial justice organization Color of Change, expressed disappointment that policing was not addressed in the executive action.
“President Biden’s executive orders not to renew contracts with lucrative prisons and the investigation into housing discrimination brought about by the Trump administration’s policy are important steps forward, but do not go far enough,” Robinson said. He noted that he had hoped that Mr. moved to reinstate an Obama-era policy banning the transfer of military equipment to local police departments.
The victory of mr. Praying for Mr. Trump in several warring states, including Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, has been fueled by strong turnout of black voters. During his campaign and transition, Mr. Biden promises that his administration will retain issues of equity – as well as climate change, another issue he sees as an existential crisis, in shaping all policy considerations.
Mr. Biden, who kept the early promise of choosing a woman to serve as vice president, also tried to highlight the variety of his cabinet choices.
The Senate on Monday called the election of Mr. Pray for the Treasury Secretary confirmed. Janet Yellen, who is the first woman to lead the department. Last week, the Senate confirmed Lloyd Austin as the country’s first black defense secretary.