California Governor Jerry Brown is again defying the Trump administration over illegal immigration by granting pardons to immigrants about to be deported. Brown used a Christmas holiday tradition over the weekend to pardon two Northern California Cambodian men who committed crimes while in the U.S., and characterized the pardons as acts of mercy.
One was convicted of felony joyriding in 2003 at age 25, and the other was convicted of a felony weapons charge with a gang enhancement and a misdemeanor stolen property charge in 1995. The pardoned immigrants will still need to ask immigration courts to reopen their cases.
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