
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer just pardoned an Albanian refugee who was convicted of murder and served a measly four year sentence back in 1978.
He was actually placed on a list for removal by the Biden administration but Whitmer just stepped in and granted the pardon, ending the removal process.
Of course, the glaring question is why this person has been allowed to stay in the U.S. for so many years despite a murder conviction. Shouldn’t that warrant an instant one-way ticket out of the country?
The Midwesterner reports:
Gretchen Whitmer pardons Albanian refugee facing deportation for murder conviction
An Albanian refugee convicted of murder in Michigan will likely avoid deportation following a recent pardon by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer granted Deda Malota Margilaj, 74, a full pardon on July 2, 50 years after he was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting and killing a man at a Detroit gas station in 1975.
President Joe Biden’s administration placed Margilaj in removal proceedings based on the 1978 conviction, but Whitmer’s pardon erases that basis and allows for the termination of the removal proceedings, according to the Perlumutter Center for Legal Justice that represented Margilaj.
“Now more than ever, this case demonstrates the power of executive clemency to correct the lifelong collateral consequences of decades-old convictions,” said Joshua Dubin, Executive Director of the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice. “Thanks to Governor Whitmer, Mr. Margilaj will be able to do what he enjoys the most ⎯ spend time with his family and friends, free of the fear that has limited his life for so many decades.”
Margilaj came to the U.S. alone as a refugee from Albania at 17 years old, and later started a business in Detroit. In 1975, he was charged with second-degree murder after shooting a man in defense of his brother, who was shot by the victim, according to the Perlmutter Center.
Some people are saying that the pardon doesn’t even matter.
It doesn’t matter. He can still be deported. A governor pardon of a conviction does not override immigration law. “In U.S. immigration law, a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT) is an offense that is inherently vile, depraved, or contrary to accepted societal morality.…
— Free_to_read_Rochester Hills (@free_to_readRCS) July 8, 2026
Convicted of a serious crime and facing deportation? There’s a democrat governor waiting to pardon you as long as it keeps you here voting blue. https://t.co/JQzZg35Ihu pic.twitter.com/5nx68dW7D6
— Heather Dow (@PatriotPostGirl) July 8, 2026
@SecRubio Deport him anyway. https://t.co/7rr27jbdEz
— Mrs. Patriot (@TheMrsPatriot) July 9, 2026
The Democrats are making it very clear who they really represent, and it’s not law abiding Americans.
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