Jeff Sessions Rolls Back Plan To Reduce Use Of Private Prisons

WASHINGTON, DC — Attorney General Jeff Sessions has issued a memo retracting President Obama's plan to that reduced federal use of private prisons.

Sessions' memo, sent Tuesday but made public Thursday, says that the previous administration's position "changed long-standing policy and practice, and impaired the Bureau's ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system." (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

The previous plan, now rescinded, was written in a memo by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who was fired as acting attorney general earlier this month when she declined to defend President Trump's executive order on immigration.

WATCH: Private Prisons Will Make A Comeback During Trump Administration

Yates' memo indicated that the policy was a part of a plan to scale back the federal prison population. Sessions appears to suggest that he expects the prison population to increase, rather than decrease, in the future.

Private prisons have come under heavy scrutiny after multiple reports suggested that they are more violent and dangerous than publicly run facilities. Supporters of the private system have argued that these prisons could be more efficient and cost-effective than other options.

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Photo by Win McNamee/Getty News Images/Getty Images