In a move that has ignited national outrage and exposed the alarming priorities of some within the progressive establishment, documents reveal how Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's Board of Pardons granted clemency to a 42-year-old illegal immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a child. The reason? To prevent his deportation, prioritizing what commissioners shamefully termed "immigration concerns" over the safety and justice owed to American children.
Fox News Digital's review of records from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission laid bare the shocking decision. By a 4-2 vote, the commission recommended a pardon for Laotian national Tue Lue Vang, despite his admission to the heinous crime of repeatedly raping a young girl over several years, beginning when she was just 10 years old. While dissenting board members rightly highlighted the severe nature of Vang's offenses, the four who pushed for clemency astonishingly cited the desire to keep him in the country.
One commissioner, Zach Linstrom, brazenly wrote in his recommendation, "Very tough case but the kids not having a father is not in the best interest of society," referring to Vang's six children. Another, Artika Roller, simply noted, "The applicant stated the need for clemency related to immigration issues." This bureaucratic language thinly veiled a deep-seated contempt for justice and a dangerous disregard for child protection, all in service of a radical immigration agenda.
Following this recommendation, the Minnesota Board of Pardons—comprised of Governor Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson—rubber-stamped the full pardon for Vang on June 10. This act effectively gave a clean slate to a convicted child rapist who was facing imminent deportation, signaling a clear message that Minnesota's sanctuary politicians value illegal status more than the rule of law and the innocence of children.
Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis did not mince words, rightly declaring, "Governor Tim Walz's decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting." She added with sharp clarity, "These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting." And somehow, they still expect Americans not to notice.
Vang entered the U.S. in 1994 and was granted legal status by the Clinton administration. The horrific abuse he inflicted occurred between 2002 and 2004 in St. Paul, Minnesota, when he was between 18 and 20 years old and his victim was in fourth grade. Documents reveal the victim initially "did not understand what Vang was doing, so she let him," and later told friends she was "angry and sad." Vang even offered the victim $10 to silence her.
Ramsey County Assistant Attorney Tami McConkey vehemently recommended against the pardon. She noted that her office had offered Vang a dispositional departure because the then-12-year-old victim faced immense family pressure not to cooperate with law enforcement. Vang was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but this was stayed in favor of 30 years of supervised probation, with just one year of local confinement. He ultimately served only eight months in a county correctional workhouse and was discharged from probation early in 2019.
McConkey further detailed numerous aggravating factors, including the extended period of abuse, Vang driving the victim to his home specifically for abuse, and his failure to use protection. A criminal complaint shared with Fox News Digital shockingly quotes Vang telling police, "I made a mistake, but this is a minor thing. It is a cultural thing in Thailand to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12." He even had the audacity to suggest the victim "should be arrested also because she was as much at fault." McConkey starkly observed that Vang, while expressing shame for what his own children would learn, "does not share any thoughts or insight about what the victim must have gone through."
Despite this damning evidence and the victim's clear trauma, several commissioners incredibly cited the victim's "support" for a pardon in their recommendations. Commissioner Nadine Graves wrote, "The victim supports this pardon. His [Vang’s] wife stayed and has forgiven. He also [has] immigration concerns. He has remorse and was discharged from probation." Lindstrom likewise noted "applicant’s wife supports" and "victim supports" a pardon. Commissioner Perry Moriearty, while acknowledging the "extraordinary severity of the underlying offense," claimed "substantial evidence of rehabilitation, remorse and acceptance of responsibility," also citing Vang "is facing deportation" and "victim supports." The question remains: what kind of "support" is this, and under what duress was it obtained?
In his pardon application, Vang indulged in self-pity, writing, "I carry deep shame and regret for the harm I caused." He bemoaned facing a "final order of removal" and worried that, if deported, he "would be sent to a place entirely unfamiliar to me, with no family, no home, and no future." He added, "My fear is that, if deported, my children will grow up without a father, like I did" and vowed to "do all that I can to be here and to protect them from the outcomes of my deportation." His concerns for his own family, while completely ignoring the ongoing trauma of his victim, were apparently more compelling to Walz's board than the rule of law.
Fortunately, common sense and American values ultimately prevailed over progressive delusion. None of this stopped the Trump administration from taking decisive action. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that he had personally intervened to terminate Vang's legal status in the U.S., ensuring he was removed to his home country of Laos.
Rubio, a champion for American safety and sovereignty, declared, "Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children." He concluded with the clarity and resolve that defines the America First movement: "That's why I terminated his legal status in the United States. Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again."
This case is a stark reminder of the dangerous disconnect between the priorities of the radical left and the fundamental need for law, order, and the protection of our most vulnerable. While Governor Walz's board sought to coddle a convicted child rapist for "immigration concerns," the Trump administration, through the actions of principled leaders like Marco Rubio, once again demonstrated its unwavering commitment to putting American citizens and their safety first. This is what true leadership looks like – securing our nation and upholding justice, not undermining it for politically convenient narratives.
