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Biden Signs Orders for Just a Little Racial Equity
The executive orders are being widely hailed — but as they stand now, they are limited in scope
The Biden administration will tell the Department of Justice not to renew contracts with private prisons in addition to ordering the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reconsider Trump-era policies making it harder to prove discrimination.
These executive orders are being widely hailed as part of Biden’s racial equity campaign, but as they stand now, they’re limited in scope.
For instance, the Department of Justice is just one of the federal institutions that use private prisons. Biden’s plan doesn’t affect the Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Marshals Service, which were also overlooked when the Obama administration sought to end private prisons.
Private prisons also operate at the state level, and as of 2017, more than half of the people in prisons in New Mexico were held in private institutions.
However, Biden promises more action, including increasing funding for small businesses, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and schools that predominantly serve low-income communities, according to NBC News.
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