Critics blast Trump for sending border detainees to prison

President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration has already led to overrun detention facilities, long lines of asylum seekers camping out at the U.S.-Mexico border and a decision to separate young children from their parents indefinitely. Now, the administration is sending more than 1,600 immigrants - including some of those parents - to federal prisons amid a lack of space in other jails.

President commutes term of Kardashian-championed drug offender

Flexing his clemency powers once again, President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the life sentence of a woman whose cause was championed by reality TV star Kim Kardashian West. "BEST NEWS EVER!!!!" was the exuberant twitter response from Kardashian West, who visited the White House last week to press the case of Alice Marie Johnson, 63, who has spent more than two decades behind bars, serving life without parole for drug offenses.

Bipartisan support for prison reform, rehabilitation measures

Surrounded by cabinet members, Trump stridently spoke out about serious problems in the criminal justice system. But instead of just spewing law-and- order bromides about getting tough on crime, this Republican president talked about the "tremendous struggle" faced by former inmates freed from prison after serving their sentences, about their problems finding "a steady job where they can pay taxes, contribute to their country, gain dignity and pride that comes with a career."

In NYC, a Republican ex-con fights to return to Congress

The former Republican congressman from New York City's Staten Island is fighting his party, his president and the stigma of a felony conviction in a no-holds-barred primary June 26. Just two years out of prison, the amateur boxer with a fiery temper wants his old job back. And he has a legitimate chance to seize the nomination from the incumbent, Dan Donovan.

Dean LeMire: Prison drug treatment is an innovative way of reducing overdose deaths

Just when it seemed there was light at the end of the dark tunnel that is New Hampshire's overdose crisis, we are given another unwelcome jolt of reality. Despite data initially showing that drug overdose deaths had declined, state officials released new statistics in April showing that deaths continued unabated in 2017.

MAGAWorld and Media Agree That Trump’s String of Pardons May Extend to Russia Probe

President Trump on Thursday tweeted that he planned to pardon conservative filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza. Later in the day, the president told reporters that he was considering extending the pardon to Martha Stewart, and maybe even commuting the prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Trump whips up immigration storm over children

As controversy grows over his administration's treatment of children separated from undocumented immigrant parents Trump is seeking a political opening to damage his opponents and solidify his own support. It's a classic strategy that he has deployed in toxic immigration wars before: Tout his toughness and dedication to law and order while blaming Democrats for not fixing the system's problems.

Trump pardons late boxer Jack Johnson a century later

President Donald Trump has granted a rare posthumous pardon to boxing's first black heavyweight champion, clearing Jack Johnson's name more than 100 years after what many see as his racially charged conviction. "I am taking this very righteous step, I believe, to correct a wrong that occurred in our history and to honor a truly legendary boxing champion," Trump said Thursday during an Oval Office ceremony.

More criticism of prison-reform only efforts, while failing to…

Todd Cox, policy director at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has this notable new commentary in The Hill headlined "Sentencing reform is moving in the wrong direction." Here are excerpts with a bit of additional commentary to follow: In 2015, Senator Chuck Grassley introduced a long awaited bi-partisan criminal justice reform bill designed to address inequities in federal sentencing and promote rehabilitation and re-entry for persons who are incarcerated.

Mpls. man granted new federal trial after juror’s racial remarks

In a rare reversal, a federal judge has ordered a new trial for a north Minneapolis man convicted on gun charges, finding that jurors likely focused more on his race than the evidence in rendering a guilty verdict. Five years after Michael Allen Smith's conviction, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson agreed to re-examine Smith's case after the jury foreman from his trial disclosed that another juror had said of Smith, who is black: "you know he's just a banger from the hood, so he's got to be guilty."

Fedsa delays imperil migrant children

In this June 18, 2014, file photo, boys wait in line to make a phone call as they are joined by hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children that are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center in Nogales, Ariz. The Associated Press has learned that a Senate subcommittee has found that the government risks placing migrant children in the custody of human traffickers because federal agencies have delayed crucial reforms needed to keep the children safe.

Feds’ delays imperil migrant children

In this June 18, 2014, file photo, boys wait in line to make a phone call as they are joined by hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children that are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center in Nogales, Ariz. The Associated Press has learned that a Senate subcommittee has found that the government risks placing migrant children in the custody of human traffickers because federal agencies have delayed crucial reforms needed to keep the children safe.

APNewsBreak: Feds’ delays imperil migrant children

The U.S. government risks placing migrant children in the custody of human traffickers because federal agencies have delayed crucial reforms needed to keep the children safe, according to the findings of a Senate subcommittee obtained by The Associated Press. Federal officials came under fire two years ago for rolling back child welfare policies meant to protect unaccompanied minors fleeing violence in Central America, and lawmakers said Thursday that the agencies had yet to take full responsibility for the children's care in the United States.

Truck driver gets life sentence for role in death of 10 immigrants in Texas

The driver of a tractor-trailer found in Texas last summer packed with dozens of undocumented immigrants, 10 of whom died, was sentenced Friday to life without parole in a federal prison. James Matthew Bradley Jr., 61, pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death and one count of transporting aliens resulting in death.

Smuggler who let immigrants die in hot trailer gets life in prison

A truck driver was sentenced to life in federal prison without parole for a smuggling scheme that ended in the deaths of 10 immigrants who hid in his pitch-dark cargo trailer in the summer heat. James Matthew Bradley Jr., 61, of Clearwater, Fla., pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death and one count of transporting aliens resulting in death.