(G)  State Pardons.  An unconditional pardon given by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to a Greek permanent resident who had been convicted of simple larceny was held sufficient, where it was the only unconditional executive pardon that could be obtained in Georgia.[255]

 

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has granted a few pardons, but officially says he does not do it to avoid immigration consequences.  In Georgia, pardons are being granted for immigration purposes.  In Washington State, Governor Gary Locke has granted pardons to immigrants to avoid deportation.  Apparently, however, few other governors are granting very many pardons for immigrants, according to the former General Counsel to the Washington State Governor.

[255] Matter of D, 7 I. & N. Dec. 476 (BIA 1957).  See also Matter of Cevallos, 12 I. & N. Dec. 750 (BIA 1968), overruled on other grounds by Matter of Nolan, 19 I. & N. Dec. 539 (BIA 1988) (pardon by a pardon board consisting of the Governor and other cabinet members is effective for immigration purposes, and pardon by the mayor for violation of a city ordinance is an effective pardon when the mayor constitutes the only pardoning authority).

CRIMINAL DEFENSE OF IMMIGRANTS - P. 668, AFTER END OF FIRST PARTIAL PARAGRAPH INSERT:
A pardon, however, will not nullify a deportation ground based on a controlled substances conviction, firearms conviction, domestic violence conviction or protective order violation, or any other conviction not listed in the statute. FN1: Matter of Suh, 23 I. & N. Dec. 626 (BIA 2003) (presidential or gubernatorial pardon waives only the grounds of removal specifically set forth in INA 237(a)(2)(A)(v), 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(v) (2000); no implicit waivers may be read into statute; pardon of conviction of crime of domestic violence under INA 237(a)(2)(E)(i), ineffective, as not specifically included in INA 237(a)(2)(A)(v)). See N. Tooby, Criminal Defense of Immigrants, Appendix E (2003), for a complete list of conviction-based grounds of deportation.

Ninth Circuit

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).").

Eleventh Circuit

POST CON RELIEF " PARDON " FULL PARDON REQUIRED
Castillo v. U.S. Atty Gen., ___ F.3d ___, ___, 2014 WL 2915918 (11th Cir. Jun. 27, 2014) (aggravated felony conviction continues to trigger deportation, under INA 237(a)(2)(A)(iii), 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), even though the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles had earlier pardoned noncitizen for the conviction that rendered him removable: Under the plain meaning of 1227(a)(2)(A)(vi), a pardon is only full when it restores the totality of rights abrogated by the underlying conviction. Here, Castillo's pardon did not reinstate his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, a privilege he lost under Georgia law as a result of his conviction. Thus, Castillo did not receive a full pardon, and 1227(a)(2)(A)(vi) does not apply.).

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