NY Gov Pardons 13 Migrants, Including Manslaughter Convict

Vatthanavong, who fled to the US after the Vietnam War, claimed to the outlet that he was defending himself during an altercation outside a pool hall when he fatally shot a man.

A convict who is pardoned is freed from prison even if he has time left to serve. In these New York cases, since Vatthanayong and the other recipients were already released, it means they avoid other consequences for their crimes, such as being flagged for deportation. The pardon does not seal or expunge their records.

Hochul’s pardon rhetoric is a stark pivot from her repeated pledges to work with ICE and other federal authorities to deport criminal migrants.

“There is no sanctuary in New York for people who commit crimes. New York is committed to cracking down on gang members and violent criminals, and State officials cooperate with ICE and CBP in many circumstance,” Hochul’s office wrote in a memo before her testimony to the House Oversight Committee defending New York’s sanctuary policy earlier this year.

After Vatthanavong’s conviction, he had been eventually ordered to be deported by a federal immigration judge, though he was never removed because Laos hasn’t cooperated with US deportation proceedings for years.

It said she’s received 84 eligible pardon applications and 186 applications for commutations since the beginning of this year.