By Benjamin McConley 18321-014 FCI Coleman Low

When President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act into law, he didn’t just push through a piece of legislation, he cracked open the doors of a broken justice system. He gave America’s forgotten men and women a voice, a pathway, and for the first time in a generation, hope. From where I sit today inside the walls of FCC Coleman Low, I can tell you firsthand: President Trump is the only president in recent history who has done what he said he would do.  

I’ve been in federal prison for six years for a non-violent white collar offense. I know what it means to be stripped of your name and replaced with a number. I know what it means to be buried under bureaucracy and ignored by the very institutions meant to offer “correction.” Fortunately, I also know what it feels like when a president remembers that you’re still human.  

Let me be clear: the men I live with, the inmates I walk the compound with, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, citizens and immigrants alike, are cheering for President Trump. The cheering is not because of rhetoric, nor for empty promises, its because of results. The First Step Act, along with the previously passed Second Chance Act are not just bills on Capital Hill: they are lifelines. They are policies that make sense, save taxpayers dollars, reunite families, and focus on outcomes, not just punishment.  

The sad truth is that this bold vision has been hijacked by a sluggish, unaccountable bureaucracy. While President Trump gave us the map, it’s the local Wardens, Case Managers, Unit Team staff and now the “RM’s”- Probation Officers, who hold the keys, and far too many are ignoring the instructions given by the Trump Administration. Rather than implement the First Step Act and transition eligible inmates to home confinement or supervised release, as directed, they stall, delay, and blame other departments or their lack of “guidance”. The newest excuse is that inmates will be “waiting on the RM”, which now has the say on how much Home Confinement inmates get rather than going by the letter of the law and guidance from the newly appointed BOP Director. All this while men and women waste away behind bars long after they’ve earned their second chance at life.  

This is not what President Trump intended. This is sabotage by inaction and willful obstruction by an agency that refuses to implement change.  

I may be a felon, and I may be stained by my past, but I will not be silenced. I will scream, write, teach, and fight for this cause both while in prison and after my release, until someone listens. Whether the Trump Administration ever recognized me or not, I will continue to champion what he began because I believe the work that matters most is the work done in private. In here, behind the razor wire, I am not alone. Thousands of incarcerated Americans, many of them minorities, see through the political noise and recognize who undeniably kept his word as president.  

Minorities should be lining up to vote for Trump and the lawmakers who will advance his agenda. This isn’t about party lines, it’s about policy that works. It isn’t a Republican or a Democrat issue, it’s about children getting their fathers back. It’s about mothers returning to their homes and families. This movement is about Americans contributing again, instead of costing the U.S. Taxpayer over $45,000 a year to sit in a cell, long after their lessons are learned. Ultimately, it’s about dignity, redemption, and common sense.

Let me tell you something else the media won’t: many of the undocumented immigrants incarcerated with me, men with ICE detainers, non-violent offenders who’ve already served 5, 10, and even 15 years support Trump. Why? Because even his immigration policy, though firm, is fair. The men here aren’t afraid of deportation. They want it. They’re begging for it. There are over 24,000 illegal immigrants in the Bureau of Prison. More than half of these are non-violent offenders. These inmates are ready to go home and rebuild their lives. Instead, they rot here, excluded from the First Step Act, denied Second Chance Act eligibility, and are left in limbo with no end in sight. They spend many additional years in prison for no practical reason. All on the taxpayer’s dime.  

These are men from Cape Verde, Venezuela, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, and beyond. To tell you the truth: if a man hasn’t changed after 5 years in federal prison, he’s not going to. Rehabilitation happens early. After a while, continued incarceration for non-violent offenders is no longer productive, it’s just punishment for punishment’s sake. President Trump, I believe, understands this.  

What’s revolutionary about Trump’s approach is not just the compassion, it’s the pragmatism. Prison reform isn’t about going soft. It’s about being smart. It’s about understanding that redemption leads to reintegration, which leads to stronger families, safer streets, and more productive communities. That’s not a liberal idea or a conservative idea, it’s an American one.  

As we approach the 2026 midterm elections, the stakes could not be higher. If we want to see these reforms fully realized, if we want to push past bureaucratic resistance and return power to common-sense leadership, we need to vote. Every person with a loved one in prison, on probation, or struggling with the lifelong stigma of a felony conviction should understand this: President Trump is the only one who did what he said he would do and he is promising to do more.  

I may never have a seat in the West Wing. I may never hear my name spoken from a podium again. That’s ok. I don’t need recognition to know I’m doing the right thing. I’ve seen the change firsthand. I’ve seen men transform because Trump gave them the chance to believe in a future again and get to their families far sooner than they ever imagined possible.  

The system may have buried my voice, but I will raise it anyway. Somewhere, someone in the position of power will hear my voice again. When they do, they’ll know: I stood with the truth, I stood with the forgotten, and I stood with the only leader who stood with us.  

It’s time we finished what President Trump started. It’s time to make the First Step Act more than a promise. It’s time to make it a practice within the BOP.

And it needs to start now.

Benjamin McConley (Reg #18321-014) is currently incarcerated at FCI Coleman Low. He is the former founder of several business ventures in finance and media. While serving his sentence, he has turned to writing, mentorship and faith, dedicating himself to inspiring others through stories of growth, accountability and transformation. A husband and father, McConley writes to bring hope to others and to serve his community even from within confinement.  

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