DHS accuses MN Gov. Walz of trying to protect illegal migrant pedo from deportation

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of seeking to shield an illegal migrant from deportation after a pardon, alleging the individual repeatedly sexually assaulted a child. DHS said Vang, a man from Laos, was granted a pardon by the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, removing the qualifying convictions that would make him removable. The agency says Vang was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual assault and was set for imminent removal after the pardon announcement. The article reports that Walz had not responded as of publication. DHS quoted Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis criticizing the decision, and referenced court filings stating abuse of a girl between 2002 and 2004. It frames Vang’s pardon as a change that could thwart removal proceedings that had followed his final order of removal issued by an immigration judge. The report ties the dispute to Minnesota’s sanctuary-state stance.