California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday issued pardons to three men who committed separate crimes when they were each 19 years old. The governor wrote that part of the reason he was pardoning the men was prevent them from being separated from friends and family and deported to Cambodia or Vietnam.
These are the latest in a series of pardons signed by the Democratic governor, while the Trump administration increases efforts to deport immigrants with criminal records.
Those pardoned include 44-year-old Saman Pho of Oakland, who was sentenced to 12 years for attempted murder in 1995. Immigrant rights groups gathered at the state Capitol earlier this month for a rally in support of him.
Pho came to the United States at the age of seven with his family as refugees from Cambodia and faced deportation back to that country.
Also looking at the possibility of deportation and receiving pardons were Quyen Mai and Dat Vu. They are both originally from Vietnam, but they now live in Santa Clara County.
Vu was sentenced to seven years in state prison for his assault with a deadly weapon conviction. He was also convicted of threatening a witness.
Mai was sentenced to a little less than three years for being an accessory after a crime.
See the full pardon statements by clicking here.