Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) declared that he could not read a speech “like” a black official during a racist weekend chat, but it seems he also cannot read or understand official court sentences because he just happily pardoned an attempted murderer.
Cambodian Somboon Phaymany did have a green card at one time, but he lost it after being convicted of attempted murder. Newsom’s pardon was an attempt to prevent the deportation of the foreign criminal from the United States, based on information in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release.
NEW: DHS is slamming California Gov. Newsom after they say he pardoned a Cambodian illegal alien w/ a deportation order who was convicted of attempted murder & assault w/ a firearm, which will shield him from deportation. DHS says the pardon removes his qualifying convictions for… pic.twitter.com/OQbcGgIJtb
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 23, 2026
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin angrily stated, “Governor Newsom pardoning an illegal alien convicted of attempted murder, so he can remain in our country, is absolute INSANITY. These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his sanctuary politicians are protecting. He is putting the lives of all Americans at risk.”
McLaughlin then explained why and how the criminal foreigner lost the card that had given him the privilege of being in America, a privilege which he abused. “Somboon Phaymany lost his green card following his conviction for attempted murder and assault with a firearm,” she said. “Following the conviction, he was placed in removal proceedings and issued a final order of removal by a judge. Gavin Newsom’s pardon took away this attempted murderer’s qualifying convictions that made him removable from the U.S.”
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I think the federal government should remove the thuggish Phaymany anyway. Why should it be constrained by a blatantly partisan and unjustified attempt to save a criminal from the results of his crime? If the federal government revoked Phaymany’s green card, regardless of whether he committed a crime, is he not therefore still deportable?
Unfortunately, Newsom is determined to protect as many illegal alien criminals as possible. I previously noted that Newsom could be on the point of releasing tens of thousands of illegal alien criminals, and that is a danger which DHS highlighted again in its press release about Phaymany:
Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is fighting for the arrest and removal of aliens who commit crimes in American communities. As of February 6, 2026, ICE has 33,179 active detainers for criminal illegal aliens in California’s local, state, and federal prisons. Across the state of California, 4,561 criminal illegal aliens have had detainers not honored and have been RELEASED from jails into California communities since January 20, 2025.
The crimes of these aliens include 31 homicides, 661 assaults, 574 burglaries, 184 robberies, 1,489 dangerous drugs offenses, 379 weapons offenses, and 234 sexual predatory offenses.
Just think about that for a moment. Newsom was more hardcore in persecuting U.S. citizens who didn’t wear masks in 2020 than he is in keeping murderers behind bars. He insists on not honoring ICE detainers for illegal aliens, and in the case of Phaymany, specifically pardoned him. No matter how much you hate the Democrat Party, it isn’t nearly enough.
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