The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a formal statement condemning Minnesota Governor Tim Walz following the state’s decision to grant a pardon to Tou Lue Vang, a non-citizen convicted of sexually assaulting a minor. According to the DHS, the pardon, granted by the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission on June 10, 2026, removes the specific criminal convictions that previously served as the legal basis for Vang’s removal from the United States.
Vang, a native of Laos who entered the U.S. in 1994, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a 10-year-old girl. Following that conviction, a Department of Justice immigration judge issued a final order of removal in October 2006. DHS officials state that the governor’s intervention now risks thwarting that federal deportation order.
“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” stated Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. The DHS noted that Vang’s legal status had been revoked following his 2006 conviction. The department further highlighted that this is the second instance this year of the Minnesota commission granting a pardon to a non-citizen with a significant criminal record, following a May pardon granted to an individual convicted of armed robbery and DUI offenses.