Spencer Pratt Blasts Tim Walz Over 42-Year-Old Child Rapist Pardon

Q: If the victim supported the pardon, why did federal authorities still pursue deportation?

Federal authorities still pursued deportation because the victim’s support for a pardon did not control Vang’s immigration case. Immigration enforcement is a federal matter, separate from Minnesota’s clemency process. Vang had already been placed under a final federal order of removal in 2006 after his conviction for first-degree criminal sexual conduct. That order made him deportable under federal immigration law, and a state pardon did not automatically erase that federal basis for removal. In immigration law, a pardon can sometimes affect deportation consequences, but it does not always do so, especially when federal officials determine there is still an independent basis to remove someone. That is why Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved to terminate Vang’s legal status after the pardon, and DHS and ICE proceeded with arrest and removal. Federal officials said they acted to ensure the state clemency decision would not block enforcement of the existing removal order. The victim’s support mattered in the state pardon review and likely helped the Minnesota Board of Pardons decide to grant clemency. But victim support is not binding on federal immigration authorities. Their decision turned on federal law, Vang’s prior conviction, and the standing removal order—not on whether the victim had forgiven him or supported clemency.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 18

Spencer Pratt drew wide conservative attention Friday after posting on X that Tim Walz should not be defending a child molester by saying people cannot be judged by their worst day.
Walz had been defending clemency for Tou Lue Vang, 42, arguing his deportation did not make the U.S. safer or improve stability for the children left behind.
The Minnesota Board of Pardons — Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — granted Vang clemency on June 10, despite his conviction for repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl between 2002 and 2004.
Marco Rubio later terminated Vang's legal status so DHS could remove him, and Vang was ultimately deported after the pardon threatened to complicate that process.
Tom Emmer and Nancy Mace were among Republicans amplifying Pratt's post, turning the case into a broader attack on Democrats' immigration and criminal-justice approach.