Trump calls for end to no-cash bail while making unsubstantiated crime claims
Washington DC - President Donald Trump has called on lawmakers in Congress to end no-cash bail laws in cities like New York and Chicago.
During the same press conference in which Trump announced he would deploy 800 National Guard troops to Washington DC, he called on Congress to end no-cash bail laws across the country.
Such reforms have been introduced in cities like New York and Chicago, allowing defendants to be bailed out of jail ahead of trial without having to post a cash bond.
Cash bail laws were designed to encourage defendants to show up to court because their money would be returned to them if they did so.
Despite the Constitution prohibiting "excessive bail," bail amounts are regularly set so high that people – many of whom have not been convicted of a crime – cannot afford them, hence the need for no-cash bail laws.
The Trump administration, however, believes that no-cash bail is a "disaster," claiming – without providing substantial evidence – that such policies have contributed to high crime rates.
"Every place in the country where you have no-cash bail is a disaster," Trump said during a press conference on Monday. "That's what started the problem in New York, and they don't change it."
Trump calls out New York and Chicago bail policies
Trump has not revealed how he or the Department of Justice would go about ending no-cash bail laws across the country. Such policies are set by state legislatures and not by the federal government.
"Somebody murders somebody, and they're out on no cash bail before the day is out," Trump claimed. "We're gonna end that in Chicago, we're gonna change the statute."
In Chicago, laws introduced in 2023 replaced cash bail with a "pretrial release" system. Under the system, the release of defendants is up to the discretion of a judge, based on the severity of the crime, their flight risk, whether they pose a danger to the community, and other factors.
Cover photo: AFP/Jim Watson