Passing conservative criminal justice reform, like the types of reforms that have proven successful in Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, and a number of other red states, could be a major legislative victory for conservatives on the Hill. But if you’ve heard the recent chatter in Washington you might have been confused how this has become a story about immigration. Immigration is an important issue, but let’s avoid any sleight-of-hand and instead look to the states that have already made great strides in applying conservative principles to their criminal justice systems.

Criminal justice reform at the state level is one of the major conservative policy accomplishments of the last decade. In these states, reformers have seen their states’ crime and incarceration rates plummet.