Walz, Minnesota Panel Pardons Convicted Child Sex Offender Facing Deportation

(KNSI) – A three-person Minnesota panel that includes Governor Tim Walz pardoned a man convicted of sexually abusing a child, a decision that’s drawn sharp criticism from the Trump administration over accusations that state leaders are shielding a dangerous offender from deportation.

The Minnesota Board of Pardons, made up of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and State Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, voted unanimously on June 10th to pardon Tou Lue Vang a native of Laos who was facing imminent removal from the country. The 42-year-old was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after admitting to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl over roughly two years, beginning in 2002.

According to court documents, Vang tried to justify the abuse to investigators by citing what he described as cultural norms, and at one point offered the girl $10 to stay quiet. He pleaded guilty in a deal that kept him out of prison, but a federal immigration judge ordered him removed from the country on October 31st, 2006, after the conviction stripped him of the legal status he’d held since arriving in the U.S. as a child refugee in 1994.

Vang submitted a letter to the state’s Clemency Review Commission expressing regret for his actions and noting that a pardon would allow him to remain in the country with his wife and six children. His victim, now an adult, also wrote in support of the pardon. The Clemency Review Commission, a nine-member panel, recommended the pardon in April on a four-to-two vote, with three members absent. Ellison’s office said the board’s decision followed an exhaustive review process that weighed the victim’s letter alongside numerous letters of community support.

The pardon has drawn swift condemnation from federal officials. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the pardon came just a week before Vang was set to be removed from the country. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis called the decision “disgusting,” accusing Walz and other Minnesota leaders of protecting people in the country illegally who have serious criminal histories. U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, also condemned the move, saying it makes it harder to deport a dangerous offender.

Walz’s office, responding to inquiries from reporters, pointed to the letter from Vang’s victim, saying such statements of support carry significant weight in the clemency process.

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