Gov pardons ex-con immigrant facing deport

Gov. Cuomo on Tuesday issued another pardon to an illegal immigrant with a criminal conviction — just hours before the man’s deportation hearing.

Harveys Gomez, 39, a Bronx resident and a native of the Dominican Republic, is the latest immigrant to be granted clemency by the governor.

Gomez was convicted of the criminal sale of a controlled substance in 2009, spent six months in jail and has completed five years of probation.

He has been in Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment custody since October 2017, according to Cuomo’s office.

The pardon could protect Gomez from deportation if his removal is based on the state conviction, the governor’s office said.

Gomez came to the United States when he was 8 years old, is openly gay and HIV-positive, and is a survivor of childhood sex abuse, by Cuomo’s account.

The governor’s office also said that Gomez “has no family in the Dominican Republic who would be able to support him if deported.”

Cuomo added, “Harveys Gomez has paid his debt to society ... and poses no threat to society. America is his home — he has a family here, works here and has lived here for over 30 years.”

Since taking office in 2011, Cuomo has issued 34 immigration-related pardons.