Brendan J. Lyons is reporting in the Times Union Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued pardons and commuted sentences on December 27 to 18 immigrants, 39 people who committed non-violent crimes as teenagers, and two convicted felons. Cuomo said, "While the federal government continues to target immigrants and threatens to tear families apart with deportation, these actions take a critical step toward a more just, more fair and more compassionate New York." The number of immigrants who received pardons from Cuomo this year was out of the ordinary, and comes amid tighter federal scrutiny of immigration violations by the Trump Administration. All of the immigrants granted pardons have lived "crime-free" for 10 years or more, according to Cuomo's announcement. Read the full story in the Times Union.