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Jacksonville will welcome return of pardoned worker JACKSONVILLE -- Hector Carillo Landeros will be welcomed back to his city public works job once he returns to the United States. Carillo, who has worked for the city since 1994, was deported to Mexico in September for a 1991 sex abuse conviction. But a pardon issued Monday by Gov. John Kitzhaber clears the way for his return. "The council has been fully supportive of getting him back," City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen said Tuesday. "He was well liked in the city and we all are happy that this has occurred." Wyntergreen said Carillo earned first-level certifications to operate water distribution and wastewater collection systems. He said Carillo was on his way toward earning an advanced certification in water systems when deportation proceedings began. After his conviction in 1991, Carillo successfully completed a three-year probation that required him to undergo treatment for sex offenders and alcohol abuse. He began work for the city in June 1994. But when Carillo, a permanent resident of the United States since age 11, applied for full citizenship in 1996, the Immigration and Naturalization Service began proceedings to deport him. The INS invoked a retroactive provision of a 1996 federal immigration law. Kitzhaber's pardon prevents Carillo's deportation. Mayor Jim Lewis made a personal appearance in Salem on Carillo's behalf. Henry "Chip" Lazenby, Kitzhaber's legal counsel, said the strong support from Lewis and other city officials helped persuade the governor to grant the pardon. Wyntergreen said the council granted a leave of absence to Carillo until his situation was resolved. "He was never an ex-employee," Wyntergreen said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA