{"id":2572702,"date":"2026-02-23T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-hits-trump-administration-for-criticizing-his-pardon-of-illegal-immigrant\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:37:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:37:58","slug":"newsom-hits-trump-administration-for-criticizing-his-pardon-of-illegal-immigrant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-hits-trump-administration-for-criticizing-his-pardon-of-illegal-immigrant\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom hits Trump administration for criticizing his pardon of illegal immigrant"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnewsom-hits-trump-administration-for-criticizing-his-pardon-of-illegal-immigrant%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572702&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Gavin Newsom drew fire from the Department of Homeland Security after pardoning Somboon Phaymany, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ice-deportations-slashed-under-biden-fall-to-record-low-amid-immigration-crisis\/\" title=\"ICE Deportations Slashed Under Biden, Fall To Record Low Amid Immigration Crisis\">illegal immigrant convicted<\/a> of attempted murder in 1997, which allowed him to reopen immigration proceedings. DHS said the pardon undermined immigration enforcement and removed convictions that made Phaymany removable, and it criticized Newsom for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-sheriff-its-absolutely-true-that-biden-is-releasing-illegals-into-u-s-without-covid-tests\/\" title=\"Texas Sheriff: \u2018It\u2019s Absolutely True\u2019 That Biden Is Releasing Illegals Into U.S. Without COVID Tests\">releasing illegal immigrants<\/a> from jails and not honoring ICE detainers, citing a DHS press release with crime figures attributed to aliens.<\/p>\n<p>Newsom\u2019s supporters argued the pardon process in California is transparent, rigorous, and focused on rehabilitation and public safety rather than politics. Phaymany, who was 19 at the time of the offense, had been sentenced to 14 years to life, and supporters noted his upright life, caring for elderly parents, church involvement, and mentoring at-risk youth. Eight other gubernatorial pardons were issued the same day for offenses including fraud, burglary, and drug possession.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Newsom scolds Trump administration for criticizing his pardon of illegal immigrant: &lsquo;Spare us the outrage&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2513946\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gavin-newsom\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1426\">Gavin Newsom<\/a> (D-CA) told the Trump administration to &ldquo;spare us the outrage&rdquo; after the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-homeland-security\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3083\">Department of Homeland Security<\/a> ripped the governor for pardoning an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illegal-immigrants\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1972\">illegal immigrant<\/a> who was convicted of attempted murder.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>DHS <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2026\/02\/23\/california-calamity-governor-gavin-newsom-pardons-criminal-illegal-alien-convicted\">issued a press release on Monday<\/a> condemning Newsom for pardoning a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cambodia\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"815\">Cambodian<\/a> illegal immigrant last week, thus allowing the man to reopen immigration proceedings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4467922\/nick-reiner-pleads-not-guilty-murder-parents\/\">Nick Reiner pleads not guilty to murder of his parents<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4464506\/first-antifa-terrorism-trial-mistrial-need-know\/\">First antifa terrorism trial restarts following mistrial: What you need to know<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4467511\/judge-permanently-blocks-release-trump-classified-documents-report\/\">Judge permanently blocks release of Trump classified documents report<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;The same people who turned the pardon power into a rewards program for political loyalists and the rich don&rsquo;t get to lecture anyone about clemency,&rdquo; a spokesperson for Newsom told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;In California, it&rsquo;s a transparent, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-judge-will-delay-trumps-classified-document-trial-report\/\" title=\"Judge to postpone Trump&#039;s classified document trial, says report.\">rigorous legal process<\/a>, focused on individualized review of each applicant&rsquo;s rehabilitation and public safety considerations &ndash; not political favors. Spare us the outrage.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Somboon Phaymany was convicted of attempted murder in 1997 after he was the passenger in a car that pulled up to and confronted a group of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ms-13-member-pleads-guilty-to-brutal-murder-in-maryland\/\" title=\"MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty To Brutal ... in Maryland\">rival gang members<\/a>. Phaymany, who was 19 at the time, was not involved in the shooting that then took place.<\/p>\n<p>Phaymany was sentenced to 14 years to life for attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, assault with a firearm, and conspiracy to commit assault with a firearm.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Phaymany was released from parole and had applied for executive clemency in the form of a gubernatorial pardon, which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Attested-Pardon-Certificates.pdf\">was granted by Newsom on Feb. 20<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Newsom cited Phaymany&rsquo;s &ldquo;upright life,&rdquo; which includes taking care of his elderly parents, volunteering in his Buddhist and Unitarian Church, and mentoring at-risk youth. Church leadership called Phaymany a pillar in its community.<\/p>\n<p>DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin sharply criticized Newsom&rsquo;s decision, calling it insanity, and said the pardon &ldquo;took away this attempted murderer&rsquo;s qualifying convictions that made him removable from the U.S.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; McLaughlin said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In its press release, DHS also faulted Newsom for not honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers and releasing illegal immigrants from jails.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4467680\/twenty-five-mexican-national-guard-members-killed-army-takes-out-el-mencho\/\">TWENTY-FIVE MEXICAN NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS KILLED AFTER ARMY TAKES OUT &lsquo;EL MENCHO&rsquo; CARTEL LEADER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The crimes of these aliens include&#8239;31 homicides, 661 assaults, 574 burglaries, 184 robberies, 1,489 dangerous drugs offenses, 379 weapons offenses, and 234 sexual predatory offenses,&rdquo; the release said, alongside photos of some inmates who are in the U.S. illegally.<\/p>\n<p>Eight other <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >individuals received gubernatorial pardons<\/a> from Newsom the same day as Phaymany, although their charges were related to fraud, burglary, and drug possession.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Newsom blasts DHS over pardon of illegal immigrant<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4130,"featured_media":2572703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26049021706743_272d3e-e1771855867152.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7375,27345,3678,51796,69735],"class_list":["post-2572702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-criticism","tag-illegal-immigrant","tag-newsom","tag-pardon-2","tag-trump-administration-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26049021706743_272d3e-e1771855867152.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572702"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572706,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572702\/revisions\/2572706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}