California governor pardons three men threatened with deportation

Saman Pho, 2nd from left, and his family.

Three Southeast Asian American men who separately committed crimes when they were each 19 years old received pardons Friday (Nov. 15) from California's Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The three men receiving pardons are Saman Pho, 44, of Alameda County, and Santa Clara County residents Quyen Mai, 36, and Dat Vu, 36.

The governor's office said the pardons recognized that the men had transformed their lives, and that the clemency actions would “remove barriers to employment and public service, restore civic rights and responsibilities, prevent unjust collateral consequences of conviction, and encourage those still in the criminal justice system to find their pathway out.”

A pardon may remove counterproductive barriers to employment and public service, restore civic rights and responsibilities, and prevent unjust collateral consequences of conviction, such as deportation and permanent family separation. A pardon does not expunge or erase a conviction, according to the Governor's Office.

The Trump Administration has drastically increased the deportations of Cambodian and Vietnamese Americans, in particular. Between 2017 and 2018, removals of Cambodians increased by 279 percent and Vietnamese removals increased by 58 percent.

Since 1998, more than 17,000 Southeast Asian refugees have been issued a final order of removal, but due to the unique relationship between the United States and Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, many are detained for prolonged periods of time as the US government tries to deport them. 

Southeast Asian refugees represent the largest refugee community ever to be resettled in the United States, after being forcefully displaced by U.S. war and its aftermath in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam in the 1970s. 

Refugees were often resettled in urban centers of concentrated poverty with few social or economic supports. Families struggled to help their children navigate failing schools and racialized bullying. 

Southeast Asian American young people were disproportionately swept into gangs and violence. As a result, today Southeast Asian refugees are at least three times more likely to be deported on the basis of an old criminal conviction, compared to other immigrants.

Saman Pho, who was the subject of a series of demonstrations asking for his pardon in Sacramento, is an example of what the refugees experienced as youngsters.

Saman is a father and Cambodian refugee faced deportation due to a conviction from over two decades ago. Before arriving to the U.S. at the age of six, Saman spent three years with his family in concentration camps under the Khmer Rouge. Saman and his family experienced many atrocities, including the loss of his brother who starved to death. Following their captivity, they stayed at several refugee camps before coming to the United States in 1982.

Saman’s family settled in an impoverished neighborhood in Oakland during a time when many cities experienced tough-on-crime laws. Saman’s parents worked multiple jobs, and spent long hours away from home.

Saman did his best to focus on school despite an unstable environment and leaned on friends in the neighborhood for support. In 1995, while at a party with the “wrong” crowd, a group of young men attacked Saman and his friend. While under the influence of alcohol, he fired a weapon towards his attackers. Saman was arrested and immediately accepted responsibility for his actions and charged with attempted murder. With full remorse, he accepted a 12 year prison sentence.

While in prison, Saman completed his GED, received a painting certificate, attended other educational trainings, and was a member of the Men’s Advisory Committee.

After serving 11 years in prison Saman was immediately arrested by immigration officers on prison grounds and spent 4 months in ICE detention fighting deportation. Inexperienced, vulnerable, and without legal representation, Saman signed an immigration document attesting to his removal from the United States. He was released under conditional status.

Upon his release, Saman worked multiple jobs, eventually receiving honors through the Cypress Mandela apprenticeship program, which gives job opportunities to disadvantaged men. In 2014, he was offered a position with McGuire and Hester Construction where he continues to work as a respected employee. Shortly after, the Northern California Cement Masons Apprenticeship Program accepted Saman, and he became a member of the OPCMIA International Organization of Local 300.

Today, Saman has built a life with his wife, Maribel, and four children, Saman is not fluent in Khmer, and has no ties to family in Cambodia. If Saman were removed from this country, Saman and his family would face immense emotional pain, financial instability, and other severe consequences from being forcibly separated.

At a Congressional hearing Tuesday, Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, said: “These are men and women with deep roots in their communities who have lived in the United States for decades as lawful permanent residents."

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