Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s clemency board granted a full pardon to an illegal immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a child, with state commissioners citing immigration concerns and the offender’s family situation as primary justifications for clearing his criminal record.

Commission Overrules Prosecutor Opposition

The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission voted 4-2 to recommend pardoning Tue Lue Vang, a 42-year-old Laotian national who admitted to sexually assaulting a girl multiple times over several years starting when she was 10 years old. Commissioner Zach Linstrom justified his support by writing that leaving six children without a father would not serve society’s best interests. Commissioner Artika Roller noted the applicant specifically requested clemency to resolve immigration issues. Following the commission’s recommendation, Walz joined Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson on the Board of Pardons to grant the full pardon on June 10.

Ramsey County Assistant Attorney Tami McConkey formally opposed the pardon. She highlighted that prosecutors had already offered Vang a favorable plea deal because the victim, then 12 years old, faced family pressure not to cooperate with law enforcement. Despite being sentenced to 12 years in prison, Vang served only eight months in a county workhouse after his sentence was stayed for 30 years of supervised probation.

Details Of The Criminal Case

Vang entered the United States through California in 1994 and received legal status during the Clinton administration. Between 2002 and 2004, when Vang was 18 to 20 years old, he raped the victim four to six times in St. Paul. The first assault occurred when she was in fourth grade. According to court documents, the victim initially did not understand what was happening. As the abuse continued, she confided in friends who witnessed her distress. At one point, Vang offered the victim ten dollars to remain silent about the assaults.

The criminal complaint reveals that upon arrest, Vang minimized his actions and made culturally inappropriate claims about underage relationships. He also attempted to deflect responsibility by suggesting the victim shared equal fault. Prosecutors identified multiple aggravating factors, including the extended abuse period, transportation of the victim to facilitate assaults, and failure to use protection.

Federal Response And Immigration Status

Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis condemned the pardon decision, calling it disgusting that Minnesota officials would protect a convicted child rapist from deportation. The pardon effectively provided Vang with a clean slate just as he faced removal from the country. The case highlights ongoing tensions between state sanctuary policies and federal immigration enforcement priorities. Vang’s legal status, originally granted three decades ago, would have been revoked following his conviction without the gubernatorial intervention that preserved his ability to remain in America.