A 42-year-old illegal immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a child was awarded a pardon by Gov. Tim Walz’s board of pardons after the state’s clemency commission recommended it be granted to him due to "immigration concerns."
Fox News Digital reviewed documents from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, which voted 4-2 to grant a pardon to Laotian national Tue Lue Vang following his conviction for criminal sexual conduct. Vang admitted to repeatedly raping a girl over a multi-year period beginning when she was 10 years old. While the two board members who voted against granting a pardon noted the serious nature of Vang’s offenses, the four members recommending a pardon each listed concern about him being deported.
One commissioner, Zach Linstrom, who voted in favor of granting the pardon, 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. Artika Roller, another commissioner who voted in favor of the pardon, wrote, "The applicant stated the need for clemency related to immigration issues."
Following the commission’s recommendation, the Minnesota Board of Pardons, which consists of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, awarded Vang a full pardon on June 10, essentially giving him a clean slate as he was set to be deported.
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At the time of the pardon, Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis remarked that "Governor Tim Walz's decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting."
"These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting," she said.
Vang entered the U.S. through California in 1994 and was granted legal status by the Clinton administration. Between 2002 and 2004, when Vang was between 18 and 20 years old, he had sexual intercourse with the victim four to six times. The abuse took place in St. Paul, Minnesota, in Ramsey County. The first rape took place when the victim was in fourth grade.
Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital reveal that the victim "did not understand what Vang was doing, so she let him." As time went on, the document notes that the victim began to tell her friends about the abuse, who testified that she was "angry and sad" about it. At one time, the document said that Vang offered the victim $10 to keep quiet about the abuse.
While Ramsey County District Court Judge Sara Grewing did not take a position on Vang’s pardon, Ramsey County Assistant Attorney Tami McConkey recommended against granting it.
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In her formal opposition statement, McConkey noted that her office had offered a dispositional departure to Vang because the then-12-year-old victim experienced pressure from her family not to cooperate with law enforcement after his arrest.
Vang was sentenced to 12 years in prison following his conviction. However, the sentence was stayed in favor of 30 years of supervised probation, which included one year of local confinement. Ultimately, he served eight months at the county correctional workhouse. He was discharged from probation early in 2019.
McConkey noted that there were several additional aggravating factors in the case, including Vang abusing the victim over an extended period of time, in one instance even driving her to his home to abuse her, and not using sexual protection.
A criminal complaint shared with Fox News Digital states that upon his arrest, Vang told 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." The complaint also notes that "Vang stated [the victim] should be arrested also because she was as much at fault."
McConkey noted that "while Mr. Vang expresses shame and regret about what his children experience when then [sic] learn of the offense, he does not share any thoughts or insight about what the victim must have gone through."
Despite this, several commissioners noted that the victim supported a pardon for Vang in their reasons for their recommendation.
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."
Graves noted Vang’s early discharge from probation and wrote that "he retracted his prior statement about this being a result of culture. He admits this was wrong then and will always be wrong."
Lindstrom likewise noted, "applicant’s wife supports" and "victim supports" a pardon.
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Commissioner Perry Moriearty wrote, "Despite the extraordinary severity of the underlying offense, there is substantial evidence of rehabilitation, remorse and acceptance of responsibility." He also noted in his reasons that Vang "is facing deportation" and "victim supports."
In his application for a pardon, Vang wrote, "I carry deep shame and regret for the harm I caused." He noted that he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in December and was facing a final order of removal. He expressed worry that, because he arrived in the U.S. as a child, if he were deported he "would be sent to a place entirely unfamiliar to me, with no family, no home, and no future."
Vang wrote, "My fear is that, if deported, my children will grow up without a father, like I did" and "I will do all that I can to be here and to protect them from the outcomes of my deportation."
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None of this stopped the Trump administration from taking action against Vang. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that he had stepped in to terminate Vang's legal status in the U.S. and that he had been removed to his home country of Laos.
Rubio told Fox News Digital, "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."
"That's why I terminated his legal status in the United States," he continued. "Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again."
