Siriaco Concepcion Santana says he has been praying hard that the Trump administration won't deport him back to his native Dominican Republic for crimes he committed 22 years ago.

"The world fell on me, very bad. I do not know how to explain it, when they tell you something like that to you," Santana said.

On New Year's Eve he received an immigration lifeline in the form of a pardon from Governor Cuomo.

The governor's action could prevent an immigration judge from tossing the 67-year-old warehouse worker out of the country because his criminal record is now wiped clean.

"A pardon from the governor is a unique safeguard. It definitely helps. It is a tool that we use as attorneys. And it helps and it shows that the governor is standing with immigrants," Melissa Mora, an Immigration Attorney said.

President Trump has taken a stance against immigrants who enter the country illegally and immigrants who commit crimes. Concepcion came to the U.S. in the 1970's and has a green card. In 1997 he was busted for drug possession and convicted for a felony and a misdemeanor, but didn’t have to serve jail time.

"Since his arrest, he has rehabilitated, he has not been rearrested," Mora added.

On New Year's Eve, Cuomo granted pardons to 29 immigrants. Many of them face the possibility of deportation. His move is a clear rejection of President Trump's policy of going after immigrants, even those with low level offenses.

Concepcion says he has been extremely nervous that he could be sent back to the Dominican Republic.

He has been battling efforts to deport him for more than three years.

"As the expression says I had one foot here and the other there. This gives me a chance to fight," Santana said.

Although it was immigration officials under President Obama who first started the deportation proceedings against Concepcion, his lawyer says defending him against the current administration is a totally different battle.

"It has been more difficult. Certain procedures in immigration court, certain laws have changed under Trump," Mora said.

Concepcion’s next immigration court appearance isn't until 2020. He says he will tell the judge and even the president that he's a changed man and deserves to stay in the United States of America.