SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Five immigrants with criminal records who face possible deportation were pardoned by California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday, continuing his tradition of granting clemency around the Easter holiday.
The five individuals were among 56 pardons granted by Brown, as well as 14 sentence commutations for current inmates.
Brown's inclusion of those at risk of deportation _ which he has now done for several rounds of pardons _ is yet another sign of how California has diverged on immigration from the federal government, which has increased arrests and detentions under President Donald Trump.
A pardon from the governor can be decisive in helping a person avoid deportation.
Federal immigration law "makes clear that if you receive a full and unconditional pardon from the governor of a state, it can allow a noncitizen to avoid removal in certain circumstances," said Ingrid Eagly, a professor of immigration law at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Earlier this week, a U.S. Army veteran who had been deported to Mexico was granted citizenship, after Brown pardoned him last year.
One of the men receiving a pardon on Friday, Sokha Chhan, is currently in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, facing deportation to Cambodia. He had legally entered the United States at age 13 as a refugee fleeing the Khmer Rouge regime.
Chhan was convicted in 2002 of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, and of threatening a crime with the intent to terrorize. He served 364 days in jail and three years of probation for the two misdemeanors.
Brown has exercised his pardon power substantially more than preceding governors. Since taking office in 2011, he has granted 1,115 pardons and 51 commutations.
