Ending Cashless Bail in DC Will Hurt Black Communities and Won’t Keep Us Safe
August 25, 2025
Washington, DC — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that aims to end cashless bail by threatening to revoke federal funding for jurisdictions that use it. In a separate order signed today, he instructs law enforcement in Washington D.C. to charge suspects with federal crimes and hold them in federal custody to avoid cashless bail.
In response to these executive orders, Carmen Daugherty, deputy executive director at Advancement Project shared the following statement:
“Justice should not depend on an individual’s ability to buy their freedom. President Trump’s move to end D.C.’s cashless bail system further criminalizes poverty, keeping predominately Black people in jail and unfairly punishing people before a trial. This does nothing to keep our communities safe or improve public safety.
On the contrary, Black, Latine, and low-income communities of all races will be disproportionately impacted by this action, facing more time in jail before even having a fair day in court. The impacts can be devastating. Ending cashless bail unnecessarily separates families, forces people to make impossible choices like whether to pay rent or bail, has been known to cause loss of employment or child custody, and debilitates people’s psychological and physical health in remaining behind bars while awaiting trial.
We have seen all this before. Policies like cash bail and “law and order” rhetoric evoke the catastrophic 1994 Crime Bill, which expanded policing, implemented harsh criminal punishments, and brought more police to schools, creating the school-to-prison pipeline. The harm and trauma caused by this bill cannot be understated. Black families faced mass incarceration on a scale that we are still trying to undo today.
This is the latest in an unlawful series of power grabs in which President Trump attempts to override local authorities, this time by threatening to hold federal funds to manufacture a local crisis in D.C. Already, President Trump has directed the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate other cities and states with cashless bail policies to potentially restrict federal funding and services.
We ask D.C. residents and neighbors across the U.S. to call on elected officials to advocate for cashless bail policies to ensure that everyone has the same ability to navigate the criminal legal system.
Returning to harmful bail practices perpetuates white supremacy structures aimed to prevent Black and brown people from building power. Instead, we need to see divestment from prisons, jails, and systems that perpetuate mass incarceration and investment in our schools and community needs like housing, healthcare, and infrastructure. We know what keeps us safe – community.”
BACKGROUND
Washington D.C. is one of the first cities to initiate cashless bail in 1992. The cashless bail system allows people in jail awaiting trial to be released without having to pay a specific cash amount based on their promise to appear in court.
This latest power grab is an example of preemption, a tool used by the federal government interfere in local democracy, promote the interests of historically privileged property owners, and prevent self-determination in Black and other communities of color. It is currently being used and abused to disrupt advances in racial justice, health equity, voting, and countless other issues that deeply impact the ability to build power for communities of color. Advancement Project believes we must stop abusive federal preemption to build real power and win the victories needed to be safe and free.
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Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. We are a co-convener of the National Campaign for Police Free schools, a formation of 20+ youth-led grassroots organizations fighting to end the criminalization of youth in the classroom, create liberatory educational spaces, and implement an affirmative vision of safety and transformative justice. Visit www.advancementproject.org to learn more.
