NEW YORK (AP) - A Gambian immigrant who was threatened with deportation has been released from a detention facility after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pardoned him for past crimes.
Baba Sillah was released Friday from the Hudson County Correctional Facility in New Jersey. His release followed a campaign to win his freedom by immigrant advocates and Sillah’s union, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union.
The 47-year-old Sillah is a porter at a Manhattan building. He is married to a U.S. citizen and is the father of five children.
Sillah was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a routine check-in on Jan. 31.
He was released after Cuomo, a Democrat, granted him clemency for non-violent offenses from more than a decade ago. Those included convictions for unlicensed clothes selling.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.