Biden moves to end justice contracts with private prisons

The White Housesource: New York Times
published: 26 January 2021

President Biden signed executive orders on Tuesday to end Justice Department contracts with private prisons and increase the government’s enforcement of a law meant to combat discrimination in the housing market, part of the new administration’s continued focus on racial equity.

Mr. Biden also signed orders that make it the federal government’s policy to “condemn and denounce” discrimination against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, who have faced harassment since the coronavirus pandemic spread from China to the US, and to strengthen relationships between the government and Native American tribes.

Continue reading

Biden plans to roll back Trump’s refugee, asylum crackdowns

Woman refugee asylumsource: Bloomberg
published: 2 February 2021

President Biden will sign a trio of executive orders on Tuesday to reverse Donald Trump’s crackdown on asylum seekers and refugees, continuing his push to loosen his predecessor’s strict immigration policies.

Biden will direct the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a broad review of asylum programs that were targeted by the Trump administration, asking his administration to rescind proclamations, rules, and guidance documents intended to curb the entry of migrants seeking humanitarian protection in the U.S.

Continue reading

Proportion of BAME children in UK youth custody at record high

Domiciliary Prisonsource: The Guardian
published: 28 January 2021

Self-harm and use of restraint are increasingly commonplace in the youth justice system, according to government figures that also show a record-high proportion of children in youth custody are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

The government’s annual youth justice statistics, published on Thursday, show that more than half of young people in custody are black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background (BAME), a situation that the shadow justice secretary, David Lammy, described as a “national scandal”.

Continue reading