Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) for his “horrific” decision to pardon a criminal illegal alien who was convicted of sexual assault.

“This evil alien from Laos repeatedly sexually assaulted a 10 year old child,” Mullin wrote in a post on X. “These are the illegal alien criminals sanctuary politicians like Tim Walz are protecting over American citizens.”

In a press release from DHS, it was revealed that on June 10, the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission voted to allow a pardon for Tou Lue Vang from Laos, who was “convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual assault.”

Court filings show that between 2002 and 2004, Vang “repeatedly sexually assaulted a girl,” and that in one instance, he reportedly “tried to offer his victim $10 to keep quiet,” according to the press release.

Vang explained to police during an interview that “it is a cultural thing…to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12,” and also cast blame on his victim, suggesting she be arrested.

The pardon from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission comes after Vang “submitted a letter to the board expressing regret for” his actions, adding that receiving a pardon “could help him stay in the country with his wife and six children,” the New York Times reported.

Per the outlet, Vang’s pardon application shows that he was initially “born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1983,” and that he went on to be “admitted to the United States as a refugee in 1994”:

According to Mr. Vang’s pardon application, he was born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1983. Court documents show that he was admitted to the United States as a refugee in 1994, when he was a child, and became a permanent resident soon afterward.

He eventually settled in Minnesota with his family. In doing so, they joined a large community in Minnesota of Hmong, many of whom supported the C.I.A. during the “secret war” against the Communists in Laos.

Mr. Vang was around 18 when he first began abusing the girl, who was then 10 years old. Mr. Vang initially tried to defend his actions upon his arrest in 2005.

DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis criticized Walz in a statement, stating “these are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting.”