President Donald Trump commuted the sentence Wednesday of a meatpacking executive who was the subject of an immigration raid in 2008.
Sholom Rubashkin, an orthodox Jew, owned the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa and was sentenced in 2009 to 27 years in prison for bank fraud. Trump’s commutation is not a pardon and does not vacate Rubashkin’s conviction. Rubashkin will now be in a term of supervised release and have to pay restitution.
The kosher meatpacking plant was raided in 2008, and immigration agents reportedly found around 400 illegal immigrant workers, including many that were minors. The New York Times reported that immigration charges were dropped against Rubashkin, however, several managers were convicted of harboring illegal immigrants.
Rubashkin’s commutation was supported by many political leaders including three former attorney generals and former FBI Director Louis Freeh. The commutation was also backed by lawmakers ranging from Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Proponents of Rubashkin’s commutation argued that he faced an unduly harsh punishment.
Former President Barack Obama issued a record amount of commutations during his presidency most of which went towards drug dealers. (RELATED: President Obama Has Given 657 Commutations To Cocaine Dealers Since August)