Newsweek Article Claims Trump Uses 'Merry Christmas' to Promote White Nationalism

New York is following in California's footsteps by granting pardons to 18 immigrants who were facing deportation by the federal government.

In a move seen as a rebuke to President Trump's strict immigration enforcement policies, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) granted pardons Wednesday to individuals who were convicted of crimes, but have since been law-abiding members of society for 10 years or more.

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. https://t.co/QK1lzhMgfg — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 28, 2017

“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,” he announced.

Overall, Cuomo granted clemency to 61 convicted criminals and pardoned a total of 39 people for misdemeanor and nonviolent offenses.

California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, took similar action this week, pardoning two men pardoning two men who were on the verge of being deported for committing crimes while in the U.S.

The pardons were given to two Northern California Cambodian men facing deportation under the Trump administration's crackdown on criminal aliens.

One of the men was convicted in 2003 for felony joyriding and sentenced to a year in jail, while the second was convicted in 1995 on a felony weapons charge with a gang enhancement.

California has also butted heads with the Trump administration for its "sanctuary state" policies, signed into law by Brown in October.

A man whose son was killed by an illegal immigrant in California lambasted Brown's policies for "cost[ing] the lives of many Californians."

Steyn: We Weren't Told the Truth About Illegal Immigrant Crime Because of Political Correctness

WATCH: Illegal Immigrants Jump Fence During MSNBC Report on Border Wall