Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pardons illegal migrant convicted of sexually assaulting 10-year-old girl
Embattled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is being raked over the coals for pardoning an illegal immigrant slated for deportation for raping a 10-year-old girl.
The decision was handed down at the June 10 meeting of the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission (CRC), headed by Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, effectively giving Laotian national Tou Lue Vang a clean slate despite his horrific crimes.
The commission even praised Vang in a letter informing him of their decision.
“Being granted a pardon is a notable achievement and a reflection of the work you have done since your conviction,” CRC executive director Carli Stark wrote.
The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission voted to grant a pardon for Tou Lue Vang, 42, despite his conviction for sexually assaulting a young girl, just before he was expected to be deported back to Laos. DHS
Upon his arrest in 2005, Vang admitted to raping the girl, astonishingly calling it a “minor thing” and trying to blame cultural norms in Thailand, where he was born in a refugee camp in 1983, the New York Times reported.
Vang was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual contact. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl between 2002 and 2006, at one point offering her $10 to keep the abuse quiet.
Vang pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which spared him from going to prison.
“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting,” she added.
The nine-member CRC voted to approve Vang’s petition in April, with four voting in favor, two against and three absent, the outlet wrote.
In a letter to the board ahead of their decision, Vang cited his years of rehabilitation and claimed he had taken full responsibility for his actions.
Vang entered the US through California as a child in 1994 under the Clinton administration, which granted him legal status. However, those protections were revoked after his 2006 conviction, Bis said.
He was later detained in Minnesota during President Trump’s “Operation Metro Surge” illegal immigration crackdown in the state last year.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz testifies during the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing investigating fraud in Minnesota state social services, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 4, 2026. REUTERS
Trump himself has sharply criticized Walz — who was failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ 2024 running-mate — over the state’s sanctuary policies shielding illegal immigrants from federal authorities, including those convicted of violent crimes.
In January, Walz made the shocking announcement that he would not seek a third term in the 2026 governor’s race, despite being the clear frontrunner and winning a second term in 2022 by eight points.
With Post wires
