In a trip to Newark, Obama visited a residential drug-treatment center, Integrity House, to highlight efforts to ease the reentry of offenders leaving prison.
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“The ACLU of New Jersey welcomes President Barack Obama to Newark, and applauds the leadership of the president, United States Senator Cory Booker, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka in fixing our nation’s broken criminal justice system”, said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Udi Ofer.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced in October that they would grant early release to about 6,000 inmates between October 30 and November 2.
Advocates for criminal justice reform have long called on lawmakers to “ban the box” that asks job applicants if they have a criminal record.
“There are people who have gone through tough times, they’ve made mistakes, but with a little bit of help, they can get on the right path”, Obama said at Rutgers University’s law school. “Everyone has a role to play, from businesses that are hiring ex-offenders to philanthropies that are supporting education and training programs”.
Hi, everybody. Today, there are 2.2 million people behind bars in America and millions more on parole or probation. Later this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to vote on the Smarter Sentencing Act, which hopes to reform mandatory-minimum sentencing and the federal prison system.
Montclair State political scientist Brigid Harrison also believes Christie is avoiding Obama this time because being there would be detrimental to the governor’s presidential campaign. This latest executive decision is being hailed by activists who for years have argued that those with a criminal record who want to start a new life have suffered from employment discrimination and collateral punishment. First, the president has directed the Office of Personnel Management to stop asking about convictions on applications and delay criminal history searches until later in the process.
Obama said he was banning “the box” that applicants had to check about their criminal histories when applying for certain federal jobs. But Obama has called on Congress to pass legislation doing so.
After the speech, Rosario, clad in a checkered red and black suit that Obama had described as “sharp”, told reporters: “Banning the box definitely helps”.
In addition, he announced the creation of a national clearinghouse to help former inmates expunge or seal records, where possible, and a program to help public housing residents under the age of 25 do the same.
The USA leader said the key to repairing the criminal justice system – and the “vicious cycle” of crime and poverty – is giving former felons a second chance. “Because it’s not about politics”.
During a Monday television appearance, Christie said Obama doesn’t support law enforcement, which is making it harder for cops around the country to do their jobs and putting them at greater risk of violence.
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Obama praised the bipartisan cooperation behind the deal, saying that two-year agreement that funds the government through the 2017 fiscal year puts the government on a firm path.
