The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an opposing response Wednesday to Minnesota’s pardon of an illegal immigrant who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in 2006.
Tou Lue Vang, of Laos, entered California in 1994 and was granted legal status by the Clinton administration but had it revoked upon his conviction and removal order in 2006, DHS said. He remained in prison for the next two decades and was set to be deported this month until the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission voted to grant his pardon on June 10.
Vang’s pardon removed his qualifying convictions that made him removable from the United States, according to DHS.
“This pardon came just a week before Vang was set to be REMOVED from our nation,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a post on X.
DHS in its Wednesday news release condemned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and “his fellow sanctuary politicians.”
“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting.”
Neither Walz nor the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
In the commission’s letter granting Vang clemency, it wrote, “Congratulations! We will send an official pardon certificate to you in the coming weeks.”
The letter continued, outlining how the pardon “purges” the man’s conviction from his criminal record.
Once Vang signs the certificate, he is no longer required to disclose his sex crime offense “at any time or place” other than a judicial proceeding or during the licensing process for peace officers, the letter read.
“Being granted a pardon is a notable achievement and a reflection of the work you have done since your conviction,” the commission wrote.
The Epoch Times could not locate Vang on Minnesota’s sex offender registry.
The DHS statement stated that Vang’s crime, according to court filings, was repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl from 2002 to 2004.
The man attempted to offer the victim $10 to remain silent about the assaults, according to DHS, and in an interview with police said, “It is a cultural thing ... to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.”
Vang told authorities the young girl was just as guilty as him and should also be arrested, according to DHS.
The man was ultimately convicted of one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on Oct. 1, 2006.
DHS noted Vang’s case as not the first time that the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission granted a pardon to an illegal immigrant with prior violent convictions.
Earlier this year, the commission pardoned Jai Vang, of Laos, who had felony convictions of robbery and robbery of a business with a firearm. He also had a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol.
DHS said the man illegally entered the United States at an unknown date and location. The agency did not clarify if the two Vangs were related.
