America’s incarceration rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1995, followed by a dive in the number of blacks and Hispanics sent to jail under the Trump administration, according to the new Department of Justice.
In the case of minorities, the focus of President Trump’s First Phase Act prison and criminal justice agenda is the lowest rate in years.

For blacks, inmate rates in state and federal gaols are the lowest in 31 years, and for Hispanics, they are down 24 percent.
“During the decade from 2009 to 2019, the prison population decreased by 29 percent among blacks, 24 per cent among Hispanic citizens and 12 percent among whites. In 2019, the prison rate of black residents was the lowest in 30 years since 1989, “the study said.
Explaining the rate, Justice said, “At the end of 2019, there were 1,096 black prisoners sentenced per 100,000 black residents, 525 Hispanic prisoners sentenced per 100,000 Hispanic residents, and 214 white prisoners sentenced per 100,000 white residents in the U.S. Among convicted state prisoners at the end of 2018 (most recent data available), more black (62 percent) and Hispanic (62 percent) than white prisoners (48 percent) were serving time for violent offenses.
The DOJ counts those in gaol for more than a year in its report.
There were no explanations for the drop in the survey.
Trump recently led a bipartisan coalition to drive through sentencing laws with the First Step Act that helped slash gaol sentences for others.