The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.

“We kept putting out policy guidance for states, then retracting it, then putting another
out. It was chaotic,” said one official.
But for many, the rollback of racial justice efforts under the Trump administration has
gone too far.
Now, the agency is giving preference to states that promise to cooperate with the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in fighting MS-13 and other youth gangs
associated with immigrants.
And it will let them come up with their own goals for lessening racial disparities.
In the new grant application—slimmed to one page—states will no longer be expected
to submit data on how often black and Latino children have charges filed against them,
are convicted or are put on probation. Instead of furnishing specific, rigorous metrics on
race, as in the past, they will only have to respond to general questions such as, “How
much do you want to reduce [racial disparities] next year?”; “Is that reasonable? If yes,
why?”; and “What safeguards will you put in place to ensure that as you work to reduce
disproportionate minority contact, [you will still be] protecting the public, holding youth
accountable, and equipping youth to live crime-free, productive lives?”
One official said that none of the recent changes have been discussed with longtime
staff: “We’re just told the decisions, not the reasoning behind it … I think they’re just
trying to tear the whole thing down before someone pays attention.”
The agency has also issued new language guidance for its employees, instructing them
to refer to children in the justice system as “offenders,” to use the phrase “all youth”
instead of “underserved youth” and to describe crime as a “public issue” not a “publichealth
issue.”
Harp, the new administrator, says that states can still collect as much data on racial
disparities as they want. She also plans to start posting local agencies’ successes and
failures on the office website in order to hold them accountable and share what works—
a kind of “peer-to-peer training” instead of a top-down federal government approach.
As another official sees it, that’s like saying, “Hey Mississippi, if you don’t want to do
anything about this race thing anymore, that’s OK with us.”
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