President Obama Pushing For Criminal Justice Reform

Christie has planned his own events in Camden on Monday. But Christie said Obama's trip is a "disgrace" and is an attempt to "take credit" for a drop in crime and a reduced prison population that Obama had nothing to do with.

"What's happening here and what he's celebrating today has nothing to do with anything the federal government's had anything to do with", he added.

"Gov. Christie's comments in this regard have been particularly irresponsible, but not surprising for somebody whose poll numbers are close to an asterisk", Earnest said.

Appearing with Obama would be detrimental to the governor's presidential campaign, concurred Montclair State political scientist Brigid Harrison.

President Obama has issued an executive order created to ease the transition of former inmates back into society, reports The Atlantic. He also held a roundtable discussion at the Rutgers-Newark School of Criminal Justice with formerly incarcerated individuals who have found jobs or are pursuing higher education.

Remember, President Obama was the first sitting president ever to visit a US prison over the summer, and during his stop, he spoke to inmates about his interest in the policy.

Christie further complained Monday morning that the president has done nothing for criminal justice reform for the past seven years, and pushes back against Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Jim Comey, who said last month that intense scrutiny of police activities leads to increased violence against officers.

In an exclusive interview with NBC, President Obama told Lester Holt.

Obama also announced several grants and initiatives to provide job training for those with criminal records, including a software development program in Newark, and new guidance for public authorities clarifying when arrests can be used to determine eligibility for assisted housing. Around 70 million Americans have a few sort of criminal record - 70 million. The president's steps would help "to reduce recidivism, break generational cycles of crime, and make our communities safer", Cummings said.

"If they have a chance to at least meet you", the president said in speaking of the upsides to putting off the criminal record portion of the hiring process, "you're able to talk to them about your life, what you've done, maybe they give you a chance". "If we're doing a good job there, crime will go down and it will stay down". Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have joined to advance a measure to overhaul sentencing rules, and the president has made it one of his top domestic priorities for his final year in office. A companion bill is also being considered in the House. It is unclear what number of federal agencies can be affected by Obama's action.

"My hope is that with the federal government taking action, and us getting legislation passed, this becomes a basic principle across our society", he said. "We'll see if it works".

Criminal justice reform has gotten bipartisan support on Capitol Hill from Republican Sens.

"There's people who have been through tough times". The American Civil Liberties Union called the move "an important first step", but called on him to follow up with an order that would apply not only to federal employees, but federal contractors.