Mass-Incarceration

ICE detention reaches 59,000 people at 140% capacity with 70% having no criminal record

| Importance: 8/10

ICE detention facilities hold approximately 59,000 immigrants, exceeding capacity by 140%. Over 70% of detainees have no criminal record, and 93% have never been convicted of a violent crime, contradicting Trump’s repeated claims of targeting violent criminals. The overcrowding has led to …

ICE DHS Kristi Noem Donald Trump immigration-enforcement ice-detention overcrowding humanitarian-crisis mass-incarceration +3 more
Read more →

Budget Bill Allocates $45 Billion for Private Immigration Detention Centers, 308% Increase

| Importance: 6/10

One Big Beautiful Bill provides $45 billion for building new immigration detention centers, with overwhelming majority going to private companies contracted to build and run facilities. Represents 308% increase over ICE’s FY2024 detention budget, creating capacity for 125,000 beds operated by …

Donald Trump Department of Homeland Security ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Private prison contractors privatization immigration-detention private-prisons mass-incarceration government-contract +1 more
Read more →

Hillary Clinton Delivers "Super-Predators" Speech Supporting 1994 Crime Bill

| Importance: 8/10

First Lady Hillary Clinton delivers a speech at Keene State College in New Hampshire supporting the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, in which she uses the now-infamous “super-predators” terminology. In her remarks, Clinton stated: “They are not just gangs of kids …

Hillary Clinton Bill Clinton mass-incarceration racial-justice criminal-justice rhetoric political-discourse
Read more →

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act Fuels Mass Incarceration

| Importance: 9/10

President Bill Clinton signs the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the largest crime bill in U.S. history, consisting of 356 pages that provided for 100,000 new police officers and $9.7 billion in funding for prisons. Drafted by then-Senator Joe Biden and sponsored by …

Bill Clinton Joe Biden Jack Brooks mass-incarceration criminal-justice prison-industrial-complex racial-justice legislation
Read more →

Federal Three Strikes Law Mandates Life Imprisonment for Third Violent Felony

| Importance: 8/10

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 includes a federal “three strikes” provision mandating life imprisonment without possibility of parole for individuals convicted of a third violent felony or serious drug offense. Specifically, the law requires mandatory life …

Bill Clinton Joe Biden Congress mass-incarceration criminal-justice mandatory-minimums sentencing-reform legislation
Read more →

Crime Bill Allocates $8.7 Billion for Prison Construction With Truth-in-Sentencing Requirements

| Importance: 8/10

As part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, the Clinton administration allocates $8.7 billion in federal grants for prison construction to states that enact “truth-in-sentencing” (TIS) laws requiring inmates convicted of violent crimes to serve at least 85 percent of …

Bill Clinton State Governors Prison Construction Industry mass-incarceration prison-industrial-complex criminal-justice legislation federal-funding
Read more →

Anti-Drug Abuse Act Establishes 100-to-1 Crack-Cocaine Sentencing Disparity

| Importance: 9/10

Congress passes the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, establishing a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses—imposing the same penalties for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine as for 500 grams of powder cocaine. The legislation provided mandatory minimum …

Ronald Reagan Congress mass-incarceration racial-justice war-on-drugs criminal-justice sentencing-reform +1 more
Read more →