For more than a decade, UCC Media Justice has worked alongside partners, advocates, and people of faith to end the exploitation of families with loved ones behind bars. Thanks to the bipartisan Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act—passed unanimously by Congress in 2022 and signed by President Biden in 2023—the FCC adopted new rules capping the cost of calls in jails and prisons in 2024.
But this summer, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr moved to undo those protections. On October 28, the Commission will vote again—and the outcome could determine whether fairness is restored or families are left to shoulder impossible choices.
How did we get here?
Since 2012, our ministry has stood at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in the halls of Congress, and even outside on the sidewalks in prayer, insisting that no one should profit from the misery of families who just want to stay connected.
Phone and video calls are lifelines. They sustain relationships, ease reentry, and help parents stay present in their children’s lives. But under the current system, families are forced to pay unjust prices.
Here’s why: correctional facilities often choose phone providers not based on service or fairness, but on which company offers the biggest kickbacks. That means a grandmother trying to stay in touch with her grandson is footing the bill for “security costs” that pad the facility’s budget.
The result is a moral hazard—prisons and jails benefit from higher rates, they can get as many free security services as they want, while incarcerated people and their families, who have no say in the phone company they use, are left as a literally captive market.
That’s why we fought so hard to help pass the bipartisan Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act. And in 2024, we celebrated when the FCC—by a unanimous, bipartisan vote—adopted strong protections to finally bring down the cost of calls from prisons and jails. Even then-Commissioner Brendan Carr voted yes.
When phone companies sued, UCC Media Justice went to court to defend the FCC’s order, and the Trump FCC filed a strong brief backing it up. For a moment, justice felt within reach.
But this summer, a bipartisan victory fell to crass greed. Chairman Carr ordered staff to pull the plug on those protections—including the very ones Congress mandated in the Martha Wright Act. Rates in states like Oklahoma immediately spiked—the state prison will rake in profits six times higher than the prior year on the backs of grandparents and clergy paying for calls.
The FCC claimed it acted to avoid “implementation harms,” but none of those problems with implementation have appeared. In fact, many facilities across the country are still following the law without issue.
Now, the stakes are higher than ever. The FCC has told a federal court it plans to hold a vote on October 28—and all signs point toward a full betrayal of its earlier commitments.
With only three commissioners seated, the outcome will hinge on a divided Commission. Commissioner Anna Gomez has decried the rollback. Commissioner Olivia Trusty has not yet said where she stands. And Chair Carr is pressing forward.
In the meantime, UCC Media Justice isn’t standing still. We’re defending the FCC’s original order in court on October 7. We’ve filed letters and worked with allies to demand the Commission hold fast to its promise. People of faith across traditions are speaking out, reminding decision-makers that those in prison are not forgotten. Leaders are collecting data, joining meetings, and calling for action.
This work matters because keeping families connected is a matter of justice, mercy, and dignity. As Scripture reminds us in Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus explains that we show our love of God by the way we treat “the least of these” among us, including those in prison. “I was in prison, and you visited me,” Jesus says.
When a grandmother has to choose between groceries and hearing her grandson’s voice, we know the system is broken.
October will be a decisive month. Almost 100 organizations have already spoken out. Twenty-two members of Congress have pushed back. Eight State Attorneys General filed against this ruling. Ten thousand individuals have added their names in protest. But all this will not be enough. We need every voice to help defend the protections families fought so long to win:
- Add your name to our petition with our allies at Worth Rises, calling on the FCC to keep families connected and implement the rules designed to bring relief.
- We are working on the ground right now. Faith leaders and justice advocates can work to make our voices known by writing letters, op-eds, or joining upcoming meetings—email info@uccmediajustice.org to get involved.
Together, we can keep families connected—and resist a system that profits from their pain.