OAN Staff Abril Elfi
8:14 AM – Saturday, August 16, 2025
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has pardoned a group of migrants with criminal records — including one man convicted of manslaughter.
Hochul (D-N.Y.) granted pardons to 13 migrants, among them Somchith Vatthanavong, a 52-year-old from Laos who entered the U.S. illegally and was convicted of manslaughter in 1990, the New York Times first reported.
Vatthanavong, who came to the U.S. after the Vietnam War, told the outlet that he fired the fatal shot during a fight outside a pool hall, claiming he acted in self-defense.
“They’ve paid their debt, and I’ll be damned if I let them be deported to a country where they don’t know a soul,” Hochul told the Times in defense of her decision.
“And to those who would demonize them to score political points, I ask: Where is your compassion?”
In New York, a pardon does not erase a conviction, but it does shield recipients from consequences such as deportation.
According to Hochul, those pardoned include several lawful permanent residents from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and South Africa. It remains unclear how many, besides Vatthanavong, entered the U.S. without authorization.
The governor disclosed the pardons only after the Times published its report Friday.
“After careful deliberation, I’m granting clemency to thirteen individuals who have demonstrated remorse for their actions and exemplify a commitment to bettering their communities,” Hochul said in a statement on the state website.
Although a federal immigration judge once ordered Vatthanavong deported, the removal never occurred because Laos has refused to accept deportees from the U.S. for years.
Hochul’s office did not clarify whether more pardons of this kind are planned. Officials noted she has received 84 pardon applications and 186 requests for commutations so far this year.
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