New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that he is granting clemency to a 9/11 recovery worker who is being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Cuomo released news of his decision on Twitter. “Mr. Cardona spent the last 27 years proving his rehabilitation, but he has been detained because of a rash, ultra-conservative policy,” Cuomo wrote.
Carlos Humberto Cardona was taken into custody by ICE in February after showing up for a check-in with immigration authorities, according to the New York Daily News. He has been held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in New Jersey ever since.
Cardona pleaded guilty to an attempted drug sale in 1990. He has not had any convictions since.
Rather than removing Cardona from the country, authorities allowed him to be released with supervision and regular check-ins. Cardona suffers from respiratory problems linked to his work cleaning up downtown Manhattan after September 11, 2001. However, the deal was revoked after President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing deportation rules earlier this year.
Cardona applied for clemency in April, the Daily News reported. He is also married to a naturalized citizen and has filed an application with Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services to verify his marriage.
“I hope this action reunites him with his family,” Cuomo tweeted. “And sends a message about fairness and equality, values that this state was founded upon.”
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