Department of Justice

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FAMM welcomes bipartisan House letter encouraging Biden administration to rescind home confinement memo

WASHINGTON – FAMM President Kevin Ring released the following statement in response to news that more than 25 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Biden, urging the administration to rescind a legal memo on home confinement issued in the waning days of the Trump administration.

“President Biden promised to reduce incarceration, but his administration is poised to send thousands of people to prison for no good reason,” Ring said. “These people were told they would be allowed to complete their sentences under strict home supervision. They have spent the last year putting their lives back together and now they face the prospect of being separated again from their families.

“The members of Congress who signed today’s letter know the CARES Act does not require people to be returned to prison. We hope President Biden listens to them.”

Previously, FAMM joined more than 25 organizations signing on to a letter urging President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland to rescind a legal memo issued in the waning days of the Trump administration that would return thousands of people on home confinement to federal prison.

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued the memo on January 15, just four days before the end of the Trump administration. It opines that the CARES Act requires the BOP to return those serving extended home confinement terms to prison following the end of the emergency period if they do not otherwise qualify for home confinement. People sent home under the CARES Act were not told that they might have to return to prison.

For nearly three decades, FAMM has united the voices of affected families, the formerly incarcerated, and a range of stakeholders and advocates to fight for a more fair and effective justice system. FAMM’s focus on ending a one-size-fits-all punishment structure has led to reforms to sentencing and prison policies at the state and federal level and is paving the way to programs that support rehabilitation for the 94% of all prisoners who will return to our neighborhoods one day.

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FAMM is a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating the issues all across the country.