The Trump administration claims its effort to end cashless bail is about reducing crime, but immigration and racial justice activists warn it’s nothing more than an assault on the poor and people of color.
Guerline Jozef
“By reviving cash bail, the administration intentionally targets Black immigrant communities — denying them freedom and dignity while enriching the bail industry,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance.
Cashless bail refers to the criminal justice practice of releasing people from jail before trial without having to post bail in an attempt to eliminate income as a condition of release. Numerous states and cities have adopted the reform that instead relies on risk assessments to determine if people are flight risks.
But Trump has issued an executive order directing cashless bail to be eliminated in the District of Columbia and another order demanding jurisdictions across the country abolish the practice.
Despite data showing crime is declining across numerous categories, the orders claim the actions are necessary to protect Americans from criminals who should be in jail awaiting trial.
“Maintaining order and public safety requires incarcerating individuals whose pending criminal charges or criminal history demonstrate a clear ongoing risk to society,” Trump said in the order directed nationwide. “When these individuals are released without bail under city or state policies, they are permitted — even encouraged — to further endanger law-abiding, hard-working Americans because they know our laws will not be enforced.”
The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to compile a list of cities and states in compliance with the order within 30 days, and for those not in compliance to lose access to grants and other federal funds.
The second order directs Washington, D.C., to eliminate its cashless pretrial release policies and to pursue “to the fullest extent permissible” federal charges and detention for people arrested. Failure to comply will result in the Office of Management and Budget and other agencies finding ways to “press the District of Columbia to change its policies with respect to cashless bail.”
Civil rights groups urge Americans not to believe the claims the president is making about cashless bail or levels of criminal activity.
The D.C. order stems from the administration’s ongoing takeover of the nation’s capital due to what the president describes in the order as a “crime emergency that is impeding the operations and responsibilities of the federal government.”
His order says, “The District of Columbia government’s pretrial release policies, which include prohibiting cash bail, contribute to the disgraceful conditions.”
The August seizure has included federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department, deploying National Guard troops and surging U.S. agents throughout the city.
Taking on cashless bail is another logical step because the policy leaves “criminals free to endanger American citizens visiting our nation’s capital, federal workers discharging their duties to our nation, and citizens of the District of Columbia trying to live their lives safely,” Trump’s order asserts.
But civil rights groups urge Americans not to believe the claims the president is making about cashless bail or levels of criminal activity.
Nationwide, “There is not a ‘crime wave,’” the American Civil Liberties Union said in response to the executive orders. “Homicide rates increased in 2020, at the same time that other crimes declined and remain at historic lows. Recent reports of a spike in shoplifting are largely unsupported.”
Traditional cash bail does not reduce homicide rates, the organization added. “Most places in the country still rely heavily on cash bail, including places that led the pack in increasing homicide rates. The few places that have reduced reliance on cash bail did so for years before 2020 without an increase in crime, including homicide.”
A study by the Prison Policy Initiative reports a strong correlation between pretrial detention and racial bias: “Historically, Black and brown defendants have been more likely to be jailed before trial than white defendants. And recent evidence from New Jersey and Kentucky shows that while some reforms have helped reduce pretrial populations, they’ve had little or no impact on reducing racial disparities.”
David Gaspar
Research also shows Black felony defendants are 25% more likely than white defendants to be held before trial. For young Black men, it’s about 50%.
“Black and brown defendants receive bail amounts that are twice as high as bail set for white defendants — and they are less likely to be able to afford it. Even in states that have implemented pretrial reforms, racial disparities persist in pretrial detention.”
Cashless bail is humane and effective and should be retained, said David Gaspar, CEO of the Bail Project. “Efforts to expand pretrial detention or restrict so-called ‘cashless bail’ are dangerous, counterproductive and out of step with the evidence.”
Studies have uncovered no linkage between higher crime rates and districts without bail, Gaspar added.
“Bail reforms have sought to undo the two-tiered system of justice created by cash bail where wealth, not safety, determines who goes free. People with money can pay bail — no matter the risk they pose — while those without are forced to remain in jail, even if they pose no risk at all.”