Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the state's Board of Pardons granted clemency to a man convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a ten-year-old girl, a decision that federal immigration authorities say could shield him from deportation.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a public condemnation of the action Wednesday, calling the pardon a betrayal of the victim and a direct obstacle to federal immigration enforcement.
Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national residing in Minnesota, was convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting the child. The conviction ordinarily renders a non-citizen deportable under federal immigration law. The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission — composed of the governor, the state attorney general, and the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court — voted to grant Vang a pardon, clearing his criminal record of the conviction.
Under federal immigration law, a state pardon can in some circumstances eliminate the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction, a legal issue that has generated repeated disputes between state and federal authorities. The Walz administration did not publicly address the immigration implications of the pardon.
DHS issued a statement Wednesday calling out the decision directly. "Governor Walz and the Minnesota Board of Pardons have prioritized the interests of a convicted child sex offender over the safety of the public and the integrity of our immigration system," according to the statement. The department said the Trump administration was reviewing all available legal options to proceed with removal proceedings despite the pardon.
The case was reported Wednesday by Fox News, the Washington Examiner, and the Daily Wire. Representatives for the governor's office had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
Walz served as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential election, running alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris. He has previously drawn national scrutiny for his administration's approach to immigration enforcement, including the state's migrant emergency shelter program, which drew criticism after costs reached more than $1 billion annually.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections confirmed that Vang had completed his sentence prior to the pardon. The Board of Pardons did not issue a public statement explaining the rationale for the clemency grant.
Federal immigration attorneys have noted that whether a state pardon eliminates deportability is not automatically resolved and depends on the specific statutory basis for the removal order in the individual case. DHS indicated it believes removal grounds remain intact regardless of the state pardon.
The decision is the latest in a series of conflicts between states with Democratic governors and federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. Several blue-state governors have issued pardons or taken executive actions that federal authorities contend complicate deportation proceedings for individuals with criminal records.
The Walz pardon represents a distinct category of conflict — one in which a state clemency board has affirmatively acted to remove a criminal conviction that served as the basis for a federal removal order. DHS has not specified a timeline for pursuing removal proceedings against Vang.
The victim in the 2006 case is now an adult. Her identity has not been publicly disclosed by authorities.
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07.02.2026