CNN commentator Van Jones attended Thursday’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., to make the case for criminal justice reform.
American Conservative Union President Matt Schlapp and The Daily Caller’s Saagar Enjetti joined a panel with Jones to discuss the recently enacted “First Step Act.”
The bill adds incentives for prisoners to rehabilitate themselves, including the creation of “earned time credits” for non-violent offenders. (RELATED: Senate Passes Trump-Backed Criminal Justice Reform Bill)
Jones worked with President Donald Trump and other conservatives, something he took heat for from many on the Left. (RELATED: Van Jones, John Lewis, Sheila Jackson Lee Opposed Criminal Justice Reform Because ‘They Didn’t Want Trump To Have A Victory’)
“The conservative movement in this country is now the leader on this issue,” Jones said. “They’re stealing my issue!”
Jones praised Republican-led efforts on Criminal Justice Reform pointed to red states like Georgia and Mississippi that have been able to decrease crime and lower the prison population as a result of similar legislation.
Jones did draw some boos from the conservative crowd when he claimed that illegal immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than Americans.
“Undocumented immigrants right now have a lower crime rate than the rest of us,” Jones said.