Published
4 years agoon
WASHINGTON — Reality star-turned-criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian West returned to the White House on Thursday to help President Donald Trump promote efforts to help those leaving prison get jobs and stay on track.
The bill — a rare bipartisan victory in hyperpartisan Washington— included measures to reduce the sentences of thousands of prisoners and expand job training programs to decrease recidivism rates and relaxed the “three strikes” rule.
More than 1,000 federal inmates have had their sentences reduced thanks to the legislation, according to a recent report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission this month.
The White House has since been working with various companies, advocacy groups and federal agencies to try to give prisoners released early the tools and jobs they need to successfully adjust to life outside prison so they don’t wind up behind bars again.
Related Story: Kim Kardashian Meeting With Trump on Prison Reform
Jackson and Haney praised the legislation and said its effects will make a real difference for former offenders.Trump has embraced the efforts originally pushed by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner to make changes to the criminal justice system, using them to highlight the low unemployment rate and paint himself as a president focused “on lifting up all Americans.” It’s a deeply personal issue for Kushner, whose father spent time in federal prison when he was younger.
In addition to the ride share vouchers — a Lyft spokeswoman later confirmed it was the partner involved — Trump announced several other measures, including stepped-up efforts by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to work with businesses to help line up jobs for those being released and additional funds for states to support companies that hire former inmates. He said his administration hopes to cut the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people to single digits within five years.
“Now we much make sure that the Americans returning from prison get a true second chance,” he said.
Also attending the event was Trump’s departing press secretary, Sarah Sanders, whose surprise resignation Trump announced by tweet just before it started. Trump invited Sanders up onstage midway through the proceedings and photographers jockeyed to snap photos of Sanders, in addition to Kardashian West.
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