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In the Fall of 2018, I stood in the White House as President Donald Trump endorsed the First Step Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at reforming federal sentencing and modernizing our outdated prison system. As a lifelong Democrat and human rights attorney, I never imagined working with Trump on this cause. But I knew the stakes: my family, like millions of others, had been devastated by our justice system’s harsh sentencing laws and lack of rehabilitative opportunities.
The First Step Act delivered long-overdue reforms that both political parties had failed to achieve at the federal level for decades. It was a landmark moment, driven by a president who kept his promise to fight for the “forgotten men and women” of this country. The results speak for themselves: individuals released under the First Step Act have a recidivism rate of just 9.7% – just a fraction of the national average of 50-80%.
Now, as Trump returns to the White House, he has a historic opportunity to finish what he started. Two key reforms he could champion – modernizing federal supervision and expanding second chances – offer a chance to cement his legacy as the leader who transformed America’s approach to justice.
Trump could further aid former inmates and prevent recidivism in his second term. Consider Daniel Lynn Brown, who was released under the First Step Act after serving 15 years in federal prison for drug offenses. Since his release, he has transformed his life, started his own business, works full-time, and provides for his five children. However, he is restricted by outdated supervision rules, which hold him back from traveling or accepting career opportunities.
Federal supervised release has become a bloated, ineffective bureaucracy, ensnaring tens of thousands of individuals who pose no real threat to public safety. The bipartisan Safer Supervision Act would fix this by focusing resources on high-risk cases, modernizing supervision practices, and reducing unnecessary reincarceration.
Employment is one of the surest ways to prevent reoffending, yet millions of Americans with criminal records remain locked out of the workforce due to outdated policies and stigma. Trump recognized this challenge, implementing the Fair Chance Hiring Act, increasing federal bonding programs, and re-launching the Federal Interagency Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry Council. In his second term, he can supercharge these efforts and build on these successes by expanding second-chance hiring programs, removing unnecessary licensing or regulatory barriers, and incentivizing employers to hire formerly incarcerated individuals, ensuring that once individuals are no longer locked up, no American is locked out of our workforce.