President
Donald Trump blasted California Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday for his
pardon of five ex-convicts facing deportation, including two who fled
the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia with their families four decades ago.
In a
tweet , Trump referred to Brown as "Moonbeam," referencing a nickname a
newspaper columnist coined for him in the 1970s. Trump then listed the
ex-convicts' crimes before they were pardoned Friday. They include
misdemeanor domestic violence, drug possession, and kidnapping and
robbery.
Trump wrote: "Is this really what the great people of California want?"
A
spokesman for Brown responded to a request for comment with more
information about the five men but did not directly address Trump's
criticism.
In a
news release about the pardons on Friday, the governor's office said
that "those granted pardons all completed their sentences years ago and
the majority were convicted of drug-related or other non-violent
crimes."
"Pardons are not granted unless they are earned," the governor's office said.
Brown's
pardons marked the third time the Democrat has intervened on behalf of
immigrants who were deported or faced deportation over convictions.
Brown has accused the Trump administration of "basically going to war"
with California over immigration policy.
Brown's
pardons don't automatically stop deportation proceedings, but eliminate
the convictions on which authorities based their deportation.
Trump
has been criticized for his own pardon, that of former Arizona Sheriff
Joe Arpaio, who was convicted last year of a misdemeanor contempt charge
for flouting the courts in carrying out his signature immigration
patrols.
Trump's
pardon spared Arpaio from a possible jail sentence. The 85-year-old
longtime lawman announced a run for Senate in January.
Those
pardoned Friday by Brown included Sokha Chhan and Phann Pheach, who face
deportation to Cambodia, a country ruled in the 1970s by the genocidal
Khmer Rouge. Chhan was convicted of two counts of misdemeanor domestic
violence in 2002 and served about a year in jail.
Pheach
was convicted of possessing drugs and obstructing a police officer in
2005 and served six months in jail. His wife said he is in federal
custody.
Also
pardoned was Daniel Maher, who served five years in prison stemming from
the 1994 armed robbery of a San Jose auto parts store. He was convicted
of kidnapping, robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm in
the case.
Maher
is facing deportation to China, where he has never lived. Maher is from
Macau, which became part of China after his family immigrated to
California when he was 3.
Also
pardoned while facing deportation were Daniel Mena and Francisco Acevedo
Alaniz. Mena served three years of probation after being convicted of
possessing illegal drugs in 2003. Alaniz served five months in prison
for a 1997 car theft conviction.
The
governor is a former Jesuit seminarian and traditionally issues pardons
close to major Christian holidays. Easter falls on Sunday.
California's
longest-serving governor has now issued 1,519 pardons, including 404
during his first two terms as governor from 1975 to 1983.
AP
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