Man Pardoned By Governor Become U.S. Citizen

By: Ty Milburn

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A naturalization ceremony was held in Manhattan on Friday for Qing Wu, who evaded deportation for crimes he committed as a teenager with a pardon from Governor David Paterson. NY1's Ty Milburn filed the following report.

After 24 years of personal and legal struggles, New Yorker and Chinese immigrant Qing Hong Wu officially became a U.S. citizen on Friday. Walking out of the federal courthouse in Downtown Manhattan on Friday, Wu had a million-dollar smile on his face as he carried his citizenship papers.

"This is the most important document for me. I feel complete happiness now that I have this," said Wu.

During Wu's long journey to citizenship, his American Dream turned into a nightmare, as he faced the possibility of deportation.

"It's traveling to hell and back, almost -- complete change, complete sadness, complete shock to complete happiness," said Wu.

The story began 24 years ago, when Wu came to New York from China at age five with his mother. By age 15, Wu started getting in trouble with the law. In 1996, Judge Michael Correiro, now a good friend, found Wu guilty of robbery and sent the teenager to juvenile detention for three years.

"You have to have hope that things will work out," Wu remarked on Friday.

Following his sentence, Wu turned his life around. He became a law-abiding citizen and went on to earn a high school equivalency degree and later established a career in information technology.

Wu's past caught up with him seven months ago when he applied for citizenship. On the application, he disclosed his convictions, and immigration law mandated that Wu be sent to a federal correctional facility, pending deportation to a China he never knew.

"Think about what you do before you do it. Things have consequences later on in life, not just immediate," said Wu.

Correiro and a team of advocates took Wu's story public and petitioned Governor David Paterson for help. Two months ago, the governor stepped in and pardoned Wu, saying the immigrant had paid his debt to society.

"I am still in shock," said Wu.

The pardon cleared the way for Wu to reapply for citizenship. Now that he's free, Wu said he will fight to change the immigration laws so others will not have to go through what he did.

Once all of the attention dies down, Wu said he looks forward to settling back into his old life, but this time as an American citizen.