Our Blog

December 1, 2025

States Are Deporting Non-U.S. Inmates: Should Federal Authorities Follow Suit?

The cost of housing federal inmates continues to rise each year due to a combination of structural, staffing, and operational pressures within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Aging prison infrastructure requires constant maintenance, and many facilities operate beyond their intended lifespan. At the same time, the BOP faces a persistent staffing crisis—particularly among correctional officers—which forces reliance on costly overtime and augmented staffing from other departments. Health care costs have also surged, driven by an aging inmate population and increasing rates of chronic illness, mental health disorders, and substance abuse. Meanwhile, limited investment in reentry and community programs keeps the prison population higher than necessary, sustaining expensive incarceration rather than cost-effective alternatives like home confinement or halfway houses.

November 29, 2025

A Year Of Change For The Bureau Of Prisons

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has had a year of significant changes. On the first day of President Donald J. Trump’s in office, BOP Director Colette Peters was dismissed and it would take a few months before the BOP hired William Marshall III who had headed the West Virginia Department of Corrections. Like Peters, Marshall came from outside of the BOP but unlike Peters he has managed to move the needle on improvements inside the agency in a short time.

Bureau Of Prisons Could Fix First Step Act, If It Had The Will

A tenant of our criminal justice system is rooted in the concept of swift and certain punishment, which refers to the principle that the consequences for criminal behavior should be imposed quickly and predictably following a violation. Neither of these hold up well in federal cases that often take over a year to reach a jury, or plea, and terms of incarceration are subject to the interpretation of rules that can keep people in prison longer than the inmate realized.

Bureau Of Prisons Task Force Taking Shape, Challenges Remain

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced the formation of its First Step Act (FSA) Task Force earlier this month to target moving more inmates from federal prisons to community placement, known as prerelease custody. The BOP is also maximizing bed-space in Residential Reentry Centers (halfway houses) for those in most need of these important reentry services. The initiative is part of fully implementing the FSA, which was signed into law by Donald J. Trump in December 2018 during his first term in office.

Bureau Of Prisons Launches First Step Act Task Force

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has faced significant challenges in implementing the First Step Act (FSA), a 2018 law aimed at reforming the federal prison system. Some of the challenges included delays in calculating earned time credits, inconsistent application of the risk assessment tool (PATTERN), and limited access to rehabilitative programs. These shortcomings led to legal actions, such as class-action lawsuits, and bipartisan congressional criticism. It has also led to some inmates staying in prison longer than allowed under the law, primarily due to the BOP’s inability to properly calculate prison terms under the FSA. Despite efforts to improve, including policy updates and staff training, the BOP’s slow progress continues to hinder the FSA’s intended impact on reducing recidivism , enhancing inmate rehabilitation and returning non-violent offenders to the community sooner.