Minnesota Pardons Man Convicted of Child Sexual Assault; DHS Says Move Could Block His Deportation

WASHINGTON — The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission has granted a pardon to a man previously convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a 10-year-old girl, a decision the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says could interfere with his pending removal from the country.

According to DHS, the Clemency Review Commission voted June 10 to pardon Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national, who was convicted in 2006. The agency said Vang had been placed in removal proceedings following that conviction and was issued a final order of removal by a Department of Justice immigration judge on October 31, 2006. DHS said Vang was set to be deported imminently before the pardon was announced.

According to court filings referenced by DHS, Vang was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the victim between 2002 and 2004. The agency said that during questioning by police, Vang made statements attempting to justify his conduct and to shift blame to the victim. Those statements were included in the DHS release; this article is not reproducing them in full out of consideration for the victim.

DHS said Vang first entered the United States in California in 1994 and was granted legal status during the Clinton administration. That status was revoked following his 2006 conviction and final order of removal, the agency said.

“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting. Tou Lue Vang lost his legal status following his conviction for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. Following the conviction, he was placed in removal proceedings and issued a final order of removal by a judge. This pardon will take away this child rapist’s qualifying convictions that made him removable from the United States.”

The characterizations of Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission are those of DHS. A response from the governor’s office or the Clemency Review Commission was not included in the release. Under Minnesota law, the Clemency Review Commission is composed of members appointed by state officials and issues recommendations that the governor’s office acts on; pardons are not granted by the governor alone.

DHS’s statement that the pardon “could thwart” Vang’s removal from the United States reflects the agency’s characterization. The effect of a state pardon on federal immigration removability depends on the specific conviction, the immigration ground of removability, and prevailing federal case law, and outcomes can be contested in immigration court. DHS did not describe in the release what specific legal steps it intends to take following the pardon.

The DHS release also referenced a separate pardon granted in May by the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission to another Laotian national identified as Jai Vang, whom the agency said had prior convictions including robbery, armed robbery of a business, and driving under the influence.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security