There is no greater test of a justice system than how it treats the most vulnerable among us. When a child is victimized by a predator, every lever of government should work to ensure that child receives justice — and that the predator never harms anyone again. That isn’t a partisan statement. It’s a baseline expectation of any civilized society. Or at least, it used to be.

Across this country, progressive officials have been quietly dismantling that expectation. Sanctuary policies, activist judges, and ideologically captured pardon boards have built a parallel justice system — one where the legal standing of criminal illegal immigrants matters more than the safety of American children. The latest case out of Minnesota isn’t just infuriating. It’s the kind of story that makes you wonder whether the people running that state have abandoned basic decency altogether.

From Fox News:

A 42-year-old illegal immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a child was awarded a pardon by Gov. Tim Walz’s board of pardons after the state’s clemency commission recommended it be granted to him due to “immigration concerns.”

Fox News Digital reviewed documents from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, which voted 4-2 to grant a pardon to Laotian national Tue Lue Vang following his conviction for criminal sexual conduct. Vang admitted to repeatedly raping a girl over a multi-year period beginning when she was 10 years old. While the two board members who voted against granting a pardon noted the serious nature of Vang’s offenses, the four members recommending a pardon each listed concern about him being deported.

Read that again, slowly. Four of six commissioners voted to pardon a man who repeatedly raped a child starting when she was in fourth grade — and every single one of them cited his potential deportation as their reason. Not rehabilitation. Not some compelling new evidence. Deportation.

A predator’s own words

The details of this case should keep every official who signed off on that pardon awake at night. They won’t, of course — but they should.

Upon his arrest, Vang told police, “I made a mistake, but this is a minor thing. It is a cultural thing in Thailand to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” He then insisted his victim — who was ten years old when the abuse started — “should be arrested also because she was as much at fault.”

This is the man Minnesota’s liberal establishment decided deserved a fresh start.

Ramsey County Assistant Attorney Tami McConkey formally opposed the pardon. She noted that Vang expressed zero empathy for his victim. He voiced shame about what his own children might think of him. About the girl he violated repeatedly over multiple years? Silence. And let’s remember what “justice” looked like the first time around: Vang’s 12-year prison sentence was stayed. He served eight months in a county workhouse. Eight months for years of raping a child.

Immigration concerns over a child’s trauma

Commissioner Zach Linstrom, who voted yes, wrote: “Very tough case but the kids not having a father is not in the best interest of society.” Pause on that. A sitting commissioner weighed the interests of a child rapist’s family against the devastation inflicted on a little girl — and sided with the rapist.

Every commissioner who recommended the pardon listed immigration or deportation concerns as a motivating factor. The Board of Pardons — Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — then approved it unanimously. Three of the most powerful officials in Minnesota used their authority to shield a convicted child predator from federal immigration enforcement. On June 10, Vang received a full pardon. A clean slate. Just like that.

Time to clean house

Thank God the Trump administration refused to let this stand. Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated Vang’s legal status and had him removed to Laos. As Rubio told Fox News Digital, “Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children.”

But deportation alone doesn’t fix what’s broken here. The officials who made this travesty possible — the commissioners, the governor, and especially a state Supreme Court Chief Justice who apparently sees pardoning child rapists as an acceptable exercise of judicial power — need to face real consequences. Liberal judges who place progressive ideology above the safety of children have no business sitting on any bench in this country. They should be removed. Voters and lawmakers alike should settle for nothing less.

A justice system that grants mercy to the rapist while forgetting the child isn’t malfunctioning. It’s been captured. And the people who captured it are still in power.

Key Takeaways

• Minnesota’s Board of Pardons granted a full pardon to a convicted child rapist to prevent his deportation.
• Every commissioner who recommended the pardon cited immigration concerns over the severity of the crime.
• The Trump administration overrode the pardon, with Secretary Rubio terminating Vang’s status and deporting him.
• Liberal officials and judges who prioritize ideology over child safety must be removed from power.

Sources: Fox News