California governor Jerry Brown sure seems to care about the welfare of felons, especially if they’re facing deportation. This isn’t the first time he has done this. He is trying to make a political statement and stick his thumb in the eye of the Trump administration. Unfortunately, it’s the people of California who have to live with his decisions.
The Sacramento Bee reports:
California governor pardons 5 men facing deportation
California Gov. 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.
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. U.S. 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.
California has a lot of problems. Homelessness, poverty, out of control costs of housing, etc. You would think Brown would make those problems his focus.
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