Tim Walz pardons Laotian illegal alien criminal with 3 assaults to shield him from ICE

An illegal immigrant convicted of violent crimes has been granted clemency by the Minnesota Board of Pardons, sparking a scathing response from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The six-person board, which includes Democratic Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Natalie Hudson, held an emergency meeting on Monday and unanimously voted to pardon At "Ricky" Xayasounethone Chandee, of Laos.

Chandee was convicted of three assaults in 1992 and was issued a final order of removal by a federal immigration judge in 1995. He was convicted again in 2008 on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to DHS. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Chandee in January during Operation Metro Surge.

The board was scheduled to vote on a pardon for Chandee in June, but held an emergency meeting after learning he was slated to be deported from the United States this week. "There is nothing in this application, or nothing in the facts before us that would suggest that Mr. Chandee is a danger to the public in any way, shape or form," said Hudson, according to MPRNews. "He has a lot of family support, which is obviously very important, and he's had that support over the last 29 years."

Chandee's attorney filed an appeal, which was granted by a federal appeals court in Louisiana. His deportation has been paused for 14 days. Chandee's attorney, Linus Chan, said the Trump administration will likely contest the decision.

DHS said in a press release that the Minnesota Board of Pardons could thwart Chandee's removal from the United States.

"The Minnesota Board of Pardons' unanimous decision pardoning an illegal alien convicted of three violent assaults is absolute INSANITY," said DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. "At Chandee lost his green card following his convictions for aggravated assault with a weapon. Following his criminal conviction, he was placed in removal proceedings and issued a final order of removal by a judge. Minnesota's sanctuary politicians' pardon took away this violent thug's qualifying convictions that made him removable from the US."

Chandee was born in Laos, immigrated to the United States with his family as a minor, and was granted Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status, DHS said. He is currently being held at an ICE detention center in Louisiana.

He did not appear before the board on Monday; however, members of his family and some of his colleagues spoke in support of his pardon. "My dad wanted me to live the life he never had, and I believe my father has done very well in that," Chandee's son, Alex, told the commission.

The Minnesota Board of Pardons is reviewing several additional pardon requests from illegal immigrants who are subject to deportation. The commission recommended clemency for four of the five illegal immigrants. In the case that the board did not recommend a pardon, the subject had a kidnapping conviction.

DHS said that being granted a visa or green card to live in the US is a privilege. "When you break our laws, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country," the agency said.