The department has faced sharp criticism over its execution of the act. The partial government shutdown in January stymied progress on its implementation, which was further overshadowed by a debate over when the bill authorized the release of thousands of prisoners.
Advocates have expressed worries that the department would slow-walk implementation because former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and others within the department who stayed on after he was fired had fiercely opposed the law.
The deputy attorney general, Jeffrey A. Rosen, sought to tamp down those concerns at a news conference Friday to announce that the department had met the deadline for the prison releases, as well as other milestones of the law, called the First Step Act.
“The timely, efficient and effective implementation of the First Step Act is a priority for the Department of Justice and this administration,” Rosen said. “The department intends to implement this law fully and on time.”
In addition to the release of 3,100 inmates, the Justice Department said that it had redirected $75 million from Bureau of Prisons inmate care programs and institutional administrative funding to fully fund the law for the fiscal year that started in October.
The department will work with Congress to obtain the funds needed for the law going forward, Rosen said, including money for services at its heart, such as vocational and job readiness training, rehabilitation and trauma care services that prisoners can participate in to earn reduced sentences.
Amid acrimony between Democrats and Republicans, the criminal justice overhaul passed overwhelmingly in December. Trump has hosted two events to highlight the law, and he is likely to tout it during his reelection campaign as one of his administration’s signature achievements.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.