Every now and again, justice prevails. As John noted earlier, Tou Lue Vang, pardoned child rapist and Laotian national, has been deported:
Some backstory here. There are a handful of southeast Asian men who arrived in Minnesota as refugees decades ago who went on to be convicted of serious felony crimes. As a result, they lost their legal immigration status and were ordered deported back to their home countries. But nothing happened because those nations were refusing to accept any returns. Now, under Trump 2.0, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, are accepting deportees, so the threat of return has become real.
In a long-shot gambit to prevent deportation, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison have been issuing pardons to these men. The theory being that the felony convictions were the proximate cause of the deportation orders and by wiping the slate clean, these Minnesota Men are no longer deportable.
The obvious flaw in the theory is that state governors and state attorneys general cannot restore one’s immigration status, which is a strictly federal issue. As. Sec. Rubio has demonstrated, he can and will act independently to protect America and Americans, even those living in sanctuary Minnesota.
KTTC-TV (Rochester, MN) did the meme,
DHS says ICE deported Minnesota man convicted of 2006 child sex crimes after pardon
Minnesota Man!
On Wednesday, another Laotian national, Kou Vue made the same play, filing a habeas corpus petition (26-cv-3209) in federal district court in Minnesota. Vue argues that he is no longer deportable given his newly-minted state pardon for unspecified “certain convictions.” Vue’s case is still pending.
Back in May, John and I wrote about the case of a third Laotian, Jai Vang.
We will continue to monitor these cases.
