Trump blasts California immigrant pardons

President Donald Trump blasted California Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday for his pardon of five ex- convicts facing deportation, including two who fled the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia with their families four decades ago.

In a tweet, Trump referred to Brown as “Moonbeam,” referencing a nickname a newspaper columnist coined for him in the 1970s. Trump then listed the ex- convicts’ crimes before they were pardoned Friday. They include misdemeanour, domestic violence, drug possession, and kidnapping and robbery.

Trump wrote: “Is this really what the great people of California want?”

A spokesman for Brown responded to a request for comment with more information about the five men but did not directly address Trump’s criticism.

‘ Pardons were earned’

In a news release about the pardons on Friday, the governor’s office said that “those granted pardons all completed their sentences years ago and the majority were convicted of drugrelated or other non- violent crimes.”

“Pardons are not granted unless they are earned,” the governor’s office said.

Brown’s pardons marked the third time the Democrat has intervened on behalf of immigrants who were deported or faced deportation over convictions. Brown has accused the Trump administration of “basically going to war” with California over immigration policy.

Brown’s pardons don’t automatically stop deportation proceedings, but eliminate the convictions on which authorities based their deportation.

Trump has been criticised for his own pardon, that of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted last year of a misdemeanour contempt charge for flouting the courts in carrying out his signature immigration patrols.

Trump’s pardon spared Arpaio from a possible jail sentence. The 85- year- old lawman announced a run for Senate in January.