New York Governor pardons 18 immigrants in jab at Trump's crackdown
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With the new slate of pardons, Governor Andrew Cuomo nearly tripled the number he had issued explicitly to stave off deportations, his office said.
PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - In a jab at President Donald Trump's promises to crack down on illegal immigration, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday (Dec 27) pardoned 18 immigrants in an effort to free them from the threat of deportation or other immigration-related issues.
The pardons targeted those who had committed low-level offences and had demonstrated significant rehabilitation since their convictions, Mr Alphonso David, the governor's chief counsel, said in an interview.
"New York is a state of immigrants," Mr David said. "And most of these individuals made mistakes decades ago, and have been contributing members to our society."
With the new slate of pardons, Mr Cuomo nearly tripled the number he had issued explicitly to stave off deportations, his office said. Before Wednesday, the governor had pardoned seven people for that purpose.
This is the second time that the governor has wielded clemency as a direct rebuke to Mr Trump's immigration policies. The president has directed immigration officials to prioritise the deportation of any unauthorised immigrants convicted of crimes, even low-level ones.
In June, Mr Cuomo pardoned Mr Carlos Cardona, an immigrant from Colombia who had volunteered with Sept 11 recovery efforts and who had been detained by immigration officials since February.
Mr Cardona had spent 45 days in jail after pleading guilty to selling a small amount of cocaine to an undercover officer.
"While the federal government continues to target immigrants and threatens to tear families apart with deportation, these actions take a critical step toward a more just, more fair and more compassionate New York," Mr Cuomo said in a statement on Wednesday.
Ms Alina Das, an associate professor of clinical law at New York University School of Law and co-director of its Immigrant Rights Clinic, said the degree to which the pardons would ensure freedom from deportation depended on the type of conviction.
The pardons might render some people not deportable at all, Ms Das said, while for others, it would simply move them to the back of the line.
"Either way, it allows people to have a chance to stay in the US with their families," said Ms Das, who represented two of the people who were pardoned.
