The deportation of Laotian national Tue Lue Vang has renewed scrutiny of a controversial clemency decision in Minnesota and the officials who approved it.
Vang entered the United States in 1994 and later obtained legal status during the Clinton administration. In 2006, he was convicted of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl, a conviction that resulted in the loss of his legal status and made him subject to deportation.
For years, however, Vang remained in the United States. More recently, Minnesota’s Clemency Review Commission recommended that he receive a pardon, a recommendation that was ultimately approved by Gov. Tim Walz.
The pardon immediately drew criticism because it removed a major obstacle to Vang’s immigration case. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the federal government had revoked Vang’s legal status and deported him to Laos despite the state’s clemency action.
“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,” Rubio told Fox News.
“That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States,” he added. “Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”
Following the deportation, Fox News reviewed documents from Minnesota’s Clemency Review Commission to better understand why members supported granting Vang a pardon.
According to the report, the commission voted 4-2 in favor of clemency.
Commissioner Zach Linstrom wrote, “Very tough case, but the kids not having a father is not in the best interest of society.” Vang has six children.
Another commissioner, Artika Roller, noted that Vang’s application centered on “immigration issues” as a reason for seeking clemency.
Not everyone involved agreed.
Ramsey County prosecutor Tami McConkey opposed the pardon, arguing that the underlying offense remained extremely serious. According to Fox News, McConkey noted that prosecutors had already agreed to a more lenient resolution because the victim, then 12 years old, had been pressured by family members not to cooperate with authorities.
McConkey also argued that Vang’s clemency application focused largely on the impact the conviction had on his own family rather than on the victim.
“While Mr. Vang expresses shame and regret about what his children experience when they learn of the offense, he does not share any thoughts or insight about what the victim must have gone through,” she said.
Court records also included statements Vang made following his arrest.
“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,” the criminal complaint quoted him as telling investigators.
Although Vang was sentenced to 12 years in prison, Fox News reported that the sentence was stayed. Instead, he received 30 years of supervised probation and served eight months in county confinement.
Commission documents reviewed by Fox News also indicated that another commissioner, Nadine Graves, cited support from the victim and Vang’s family in recommending clemency, writing that Vang’s wife had forgiven him and that immigration concerns weighed in favor of granting the pardon.
Attention has also turned to the composition of the Clemency Review Commission itself.
According to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, the nine-member commission is divided equally among appointments made by the governor, the attorney general, and the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Members serve at the pleasure of the officials who appoint them.
After the pardon became public, Acting Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis sharply criticized the decision.
“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” Bis said in a statement. “These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting.”
