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first step act
Did Donald Trump Really Do More for Criminal Justice Reform Than Joe Biden?
Biden’s record has so far not measured up to even the low bar that Trump set while in office. The good news for Biden is that he still has five months to make good on some of his promises.
Sep 12, 2024
With the nation’s attention now riveted on U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris vs. former President Donald Trump, it might surprise some people to learn that Joe Biden is still the president of the United States until January 20, 2025. And, while he has arguably accomplished a lot already, he still has a lot of power and time to accomplish a lot more before his one term in the Oval Office comes to an end. We need him to focus on criminal justice reform and the promises he made when he was a candidate running for president in 2019.
When we look back on the past eight years, it is hard not to be struck by the glaring fact that, in his one term as president, Donald Trump’s passage of the First Step Act so far is outshining anything President Biden has done in his four years in office for criminal justice reform at the federal level.
This isn’t to say Trump’s record on reform is stellar. In fact, it leaves much to be desired. But Biden’s record has so far not measured up to even the low bar that Trump set while in office. The good news for Biden is that he still has five months to make good on some of his promises.
We want you to finish strong! If you want your legacy on criminal justice reform to surpass and be far better than your predecessor, you have some work to do before January 20, 2025.
When Trump passed the First Step Act, our organization, JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), was one of the few justice organizations that opposed the legislation for a variety of reasons, but primarily because we knew that the risk assessment tool would have adverse effects, particularly on many Black and brown people—which is exactly what we have seen happen over the past six years, and was magnified during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the fact remains that more than 33,500 people have been released from prison so far due to the implementation of the First Step Act. This, combined with Trump’s 237 pardons and commutations, currently overshadows Biden’s meager 25 pardons and 132 commutations. Even when you consider Biden’s over 6,500 federal marijuana pardons, his record still pales in comparison with the tens of thousands who have been set free by Trump’s First Step.
Freedom and liberty is one thing. Life and the pursuit of happiness are another. Because without a life to go home to, where a person’s basic human needs are met, freedom isn’t worth much—and it sometimes doesn’t last for very long.
Despite the creation of freedom for some through the First Step Act, overall, Trump’s economic and domestic policies have been a disaster for formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals and harmful to our communities. They may have their freedom, but many did not have housing to go back to, let alone jobs, healthcare, and the resources needed to provide for their bare necessities.
In less than four years, however, President Biden’s legislative accomplishments have been significant. From the American Rescue Plan to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the CHIPs and Science Act, the PACT Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and most recently the signing into law of the Federal Prison Oversight Act—Biden’s policies have unquestionably been far better for the everyday life and well-being of returning citizens and directly impacted people in this country.
While the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act has stalled in Congress, President Biden did sign an executive order “to promote safe and accountable policing, ban chokeholds, restrict no-knock entries by police, create a national police accountability database, and prohibit the transfer of military equipment to local police departments.”
But as a candidate, Biden promised to lower the national incarceration rate by “more than half.” Instead, the prison population has actually gone up—after years of decline, including under Trump.
With five months left to serve, President Biden now has an unprecedented opportunity to make good on some of his promises and add to his legacy as one of the most important and consequential presidents in U.S. history. The 70+ million Americans who have direct experience of the criminal legal system in this country will be watching and waiting, hoping for Biden to come through on a laundry list of demands, many of which he can do with the stroke of a pen.
Here’s what we’re calling on President Biden to do: Deschedule and decriminalize marijuana, instead of just rescheduling it. Abolish the federal death penalty. Eliminate all federal student loans. Direct federal agencies to use person-first language. Sign all of the 20,000+ clemency petitions sitting on his desk right now.
Finally, and these steps would certainly be more difficult but still worth doing: Fight for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Fight for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect democracy and the right to vote for all Americans. And do everything left in his power, with the time he has left in the Oval Office, to repeal and reverse the impact of the 1994 Crime Bill in order to heal the harms that have been caused by this legislation that he championed as a senator. It’s not too late to try and undo some of what has been done by his previous actions.
Mr. President, we are grateful for your 52 years of public service and for the leadership you have demonstrated in leading this nation over the past four years. We want you to finish strong! If you want your legacy on criminal justice reform to surpass and be far better than your predecessor, you have some work to do before January 20, 2025. This is what we, as citizens, need you to accomplish before you pass the torch to the next administration. May God grant you the courage and strength to do what needs to be done!
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