White House official calls Trump administration's rhetoric on race 'dangerous' as Biden halts DOJ contracts with private prisons

• President Joe Biden issued four executive orders on Tuesday.
• One of them will order the DOJ to halt any new contracts with private prisons.
• A senior official called the Trump administration's rhetoric and policies on race "dangerous."

In a series of executive actions announced on Tuesday, President Joe Biden will halt any new contracts between the Department of Justice and private prisons.

Three other orders on racial justice address housing discrimination, a recommitment to "tribal sovereignty" for Native Americans, and a memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services and the DOJ to help prevent xenophobia against Asian Americans.

The new administration also came down harshly on the Trump regime's legacy.

A senior official told reporters on a conference call that racial tensions and xenophobia were exacerbated by the "offensive and dangerous" tone set by leadership in the Trump administration.

The new executive actions from Biden were framed as part of a broader initiative in a White House news release.

Susan Rice, Biden's director of the of the Domestic Policy Council, said at an on-camera briefing early Tuesday afternoon that private prisons were the main focus of this order, while private detention centers used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "may or may not" be addressed later on.

Rice said private prisons used by the DOJ were found to be "less safe, less secure, and arguably less humane."

She also said subsequent executive actions could precede fuller legislation in Congress.

The executive order on housing comes on the heels of former President Donald Trump campaigning against fair housing measures, telling voters in the runup to the election that he "saved the suburbs" by rolling back Obama-era measures.