California’s governor pardons five men facing deportation

Brown has accused Trump’s administration of ‘basically going to war’ with his state

California Governor Jerry Brown on Friday pardoned five ex-convicts facing deportation, including two whose families fled the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia four decades ago.

The pardons don’t automatically stop deportation proceedings, but eliminate the state convictions federal authorities based their deportation decisions on. That gives the men’s lawyers strong legal arguments before immigration judges to try to prevent the deportations.

“The pardon does provide enormous benefit to immigrants facing deportation,” said Anoop Prasad, an immigration staff attorney at Asian Law Caucus.

Third consecutive pardon

Brown’s intervention for the men — among 56 pardoned — marked the Democratic governor’s third consecutive pardon round in which he intervened on behalf of immigrants who were deported or faced deportation because of criminal convictions.

Brown has accused the administration of President Donald Trump of “basically going to war” with California over immigration policy.

Brown last year signed sanctuary legislation limiting state and local cooperation with federal enforcement of immigration laws. US Attorney General Jeff Sessions responded with a Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to invalidate three state laws protecting residents living in the country without documentation.

Those pardoned Friday included Sokha Chhan and Phann Pheach, both of whom face deportation to Cambodia, a country ruled in the 1970s by the genocidal Khmer Rouge. Chhan was convicted of domestic violence in 2002.