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The man had been convicted of manslaughter as a teenager after he admitted to fatally shooting a man during a pool hall confrontation in Brooklyn, arguing it was self-defense.
Aug. 15, 2025Updated 10:50 a.m. ET
In early July, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York pardoned an immigrant from Laos to stave off his deportation, but unlike dozens of pardons she has granted before, the governor did not publicize this action.
The man Ms. Hochul pardoned, Somchith Vatthanavong, 52, had been convicted of manslaughter as a teenager after he admitted to fatally shooting a man in 1988 during a confrontation at a Brooklyn pool hall, arguing that he had acted in self-defense.
Mr. Vatthanavong, who had legally entered the United States as a refugee when he was a child, fleeing the aftermath of the Vietnam War, served 14 years in prison before being released in 2003. He then built a life in New York, marrying and raising two children who are U.S. citizens.
But President Trump’s return to power heightened the likelihood that Mr. Vatthanavong would be deported because of his conviction 35 years earlier. So community groups and his wife and lawyers mounted a campaign to persuade the governor’s office — through petitions, meetings and phone calls — to pardon Mr. Vatthanavong, a move that could result in his deportation order being vacated.
On July 1 — the day before Mr. Vatthanavong had a mandatory immigration appointment that his lawyers believed would lead to his arrest — Ms. Hochul signed a certificate granting him an unconditional pardon, “including offering relief from removal.”
Mr. Vatthanavong was portrayed by his family and supporters as a rehabilitated man who had paid his debt to society for a deadly mistake from his youth. His lawyers said the pardon had blocked Mr. Vatthanavong’s deportation and reverted his status back to legal permanent resident.
