Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is taking heat after orchestrating a last-minute pardon for a Laotian illegal immigrant convicted in a violent armed robbery case — just before federal immigration authorities could ship him out of the country.
The Democratic governor convened an emergency clemency hearing this week to rescue Jai Vang, a Laotian national convicted in a 1994 armed robbery in Hennepin County when he was 18 years old. Vang had already served prison time decades ago, but his criminal conviction left him vulnerable to deportation under federal immigration law.
That’s where Walz stepped in.
After Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Vang earlier this year during “Operation Metro Surge” — a federal crackdown targeting criminal illegal immigrants in the Minneapolis area — Walz reportedly pushed to fast-track Vang’s pardon request before ICE could complete deportation proceedings.
The Minnesota Board of Pardons, joined by Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, unanimously approved the pardon.
Walz painted Vang not as a convicted felon facing lawful deportation, but as a model resident unfairly targeted by the feds. “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,” Walz said during the hearing. “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.”
There was just one problem: Vang isn’t a citizen. The governor repeatedly referred to the Laotian national as a “citizen” while arguing that deporting him would somehow hurt Minnesota’s economy because Vang now owns a painting business and has a family. Critics blasted the move as another example of progressive politicians bending over backward for criminal illegal immigrants while ordinary Americans are left wondering whether immigration laws mean anything at all.
The case also reignited scrutiny of Walz’s increasingly hostile rhetoric toward federal immigration enforcement. Earlier this year, Walz compared ICE agents carrying out deportation operations to the “Gestapo,” invoking Nazi Germany while attacking President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. The inflammatory comparison drew outrage from federal officials and law enforcement groups.
Then-Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons publicly rebuked the governor, warning that demonizing agents could put officers in danger. “If the governor doesn’t like the laws, he’s free to advocate that Congress change them,” Lyons said, “but he should refrain from putting ICE officers in danger by likening them to one of the most appalling groups in history.”
The Vang case lands as Democrats nationwide continue struggling with voter backlash over illegal immigration, sanctuary policies and rising concerns about crime in major cities. Recent polling has shown immigration and border security climbing near the top of voter concerns heading into the 2026 midterms.
Meanwhile, ICE officials maintain that criminal convictions — especially violent felonies like armed robbery — remain a priority for removal enforcement regardless of how much time has passed since the offense. But in Walz’s Minnesota, apparently a clean stretch after prison and a small business are enough to erase armed robbery from the equation — and enough to trigger an emergency intervention from the governor himself.
