(A)  In General.  By obtaining an executive pardon, persons convicted of listed deportable offenses[143] may remove their immigration consequences, as well as the effects of the resulting sentences and confinement.[144]  Moreover, under the deportation statute, only executive pardons issued by the President of the United States or a state governor will provide immigration relief; legislative pardons have no effect.

 

            While the BIA has held that the new IIRAIRA definition of “conviction” eliminated relief under “state rehabilitative statutes,”[145] and there is some question whether the statutes allowing for state executive pardons would be considered “state rehabilitative statutes” under this authority, the effectiveness of pardons is grounded on specific federal legislation, so they remain effective to eliminate the adverse immigration consequences specified in the statute.[146]

[143] A pardon will be effective for one or more convictions of crimes of moral turpitude, aggravated felonies, high speed flight from immigration checkpoint.

[144] INA § 241(a)(2)(A)(iv), 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(2)(A)(iv) (moral turpitude, aggravated felony); Matter of H, 7 I. & N. Dec. 249 (BIA 1956) (pardon eliminates confinement for purposes of 180‑day good‑moral‑character requirements).  See Annot., What Constitutes Full and Unconditional Executive Pardon Under  § 241(b) of Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 . . ., 101 A.L.R. Fed. 668.  By analogy, the Ninth Circuit has held that an unqualified state court restoration of rights bars a federal felon-with-gun conviction.  United States v. Herron, 45 F.3d 340 (9th Cir. 1995).

[145] Matter of Salazar-Regino, 23 I. & N. Dec. 223 (BIA 2002) (en banc).

[146] INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(v), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(v).

Seventh Circuit

POST CON RELIEF - PARDON - SUFFICIENCY OF PROOF OF PARDON - NO ERROR IN BIA REFUSAL TO CONSIDER UNCERTIFIED COPY OF GEORGIA PARDON
Ali v. U.S. Attorney General, ___ F.3d ___, 2006 WL 709870 (7th Cir. Mar. 22, 2006) (per curiam) (uncertified photocopy of purported pardon was "not sufficiently reliable to meet [] heavy evidentiary burden to reopen proceedings." even though it bore a signature and a seal, because under 8 C.F.R. 287.6, "an official record or entry . . . when admissible for any purpose, shall be evidenced by an official publication thereof, or by a copy attested by the official having legal custody of the record or by an authorized deputy;" although 287.6 is not the "exclusive" method of authentication, see Khan v. INS, 237 F.3d 1143, 1144 (9th Cir. 2001) (per curiam), noncitizen offered no compelling reason why a properly certified copy of the pardon could was not submitted).

Ninth Circuit

POST CON - PARDON -STATE PARDON DID NOT ELIMINATE CONVICTION FOR FEDERAL CRIMINAL HISTORY SENTENCE PURPOSES
United States v. Bays, 589 F.3d 1035 (9th Cir. Dec. 17, 2009) (Idaho state pardon of two state controlled substances convictions was ineffective to expunge those convictions under USSG 4A1.2; convictions were properly considered in computing defendant's criminal history score since "Application Note 10 to section 4A1.2 states . . . that previous convictions which are 'set aside or ... pardoned for reasons unrelated to innocence or errors of law' are to be counted. Id. 4A1.2 cmt. n.10."); see United States v. Hayden, 255 F.3d 768, 770 (9th Cir.2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 969, 771, 122 S.Ct. 383, 151 L.Ed.2d 293 (2001). The commentary in Application Note 10 is "authoritative unless it violates the Constitution or a federal statute, or is inconsistent with, or a plainly erroneous reading of, that guideline."), quoting Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36, 38, 113 S.Ct. 1913, 123 L.Ed.2d 598 (1993).

POST CON RELIEF - PARDON - INADMISSIBILITY - PARDON DOES NOT CURE INADMISSIBILITY
Aguilera-Montero v. Mukasey, 548 F.3d 1248, 1252 (9th Cir. Dec. 1, 2008) (denial of adjustment of status is affirmed where petitioner is inadmissible and no statutory basis exists to waive inadmissibility, since neither a state pardon nor an equal protection claim could overcome the fact that Congress has expressly declined to provide a waiver for an inadmissible alien convicted of a crime relating to a controlled substance: "We have not extensively addressed the dichotomy between inadmissible and deportable aliens in the context of a state pardon. However, the Eleventh Circuit explicitly explored this issue at length in Balogun v. United States Attorney General, 425 F.3d 1356, 1358 (11th Cir. 2005), where the petitioner asserted that his "full and unconditional" state pardon entitled him to waiver of inadmissibility pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(v). ... We agree with the Eleventh Circuit that the basic tenets of statutory construction preclude us from inferring a waiver under the provisions of 8 U.S.C. 1182(a).").

Other

CAL POST CON " GOVERNORS PARDON POST CON RELIEF " PARDON " CALIFORNIA
Governor Jerry Brown granted a full and unconditional governors pardon of 1984 convictions of crimes of moral turpitude in Apr., 2012. Thanks to Mathew Millen.

POST CON RELIEF - PARDON - NEW YORK
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 23, 2008 GOVERNOR PATERSON ANNOUNCES PARDON OF RICKY "SLICK RICK" WALTERS On May 23, 2008, Governor David A. Paterson granted Ricky Walters a full and unconditional pardon of his 1991 attempted murder and weapon convictions, in order to allow Walters to seek relief from deportation from the federal immigration courts. "Mr. Walters has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his convictions, had an exemplary disciplinary record while in prison and on parole, and has been living without incident in the community for more than 10 years," said Governor Paterson. "In that time, he has volunteered at youth outreach programs to counsel youth against violence, and has become a symbol of rehabilitation for many young people. Given these demonstrated rehabilitative efforts, I urge federal immigration officials to once again grant Mr. Walters relief from deportation, so that he is not separated from his many family members who are United States citizens, including his two teenage children."

POST CON - PARDON - SELECTIVE SERVICE PARDON - VIETNAM WAR
The 1977 presidential pardon for violations of the Military Selective Service Act specifically applies to eliminate the commission of such violations as grounds of inadmissibility. Implementation of Presidential Proclamation No. 4483 and Executive Order No. 11967 (both effective Jan. 21, 1977), 42 Fed. Reg. 59562 (Nov. 18, 1977). This pardon was cited in Matter of Rahman, 16 I. & N. Dec. 579 (BIA 1978), regarding President Ford's pardon of Vietnam era draft dodgers, particularly regarding LPRs who returned on or before June 1, 1978.

POST CON RELIEF - FEDERAL - PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
http://www.justice.gov/pardon/