On Monday, a Minnesota state lawmaker told her colleagues on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives that “I am illegal in this country.”
Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, DFL-St. Paul, made that statement during a debate about whether illegal immigrants should have access to a state-run healthcare program.
Serving in her fourth-term in office, Vang Her immigrated to America from Laos when she was just four years old in 1976. The DFL lawmaker grew up in Appleton, Wis., which was one of a handful of well-known settlement areas for Laotian refugees who came to America as the Vietnam War ended.
Vang Her shared her family’s immigration story on the House floor in an effort to strike an emotional chord with her colleagues when they were preparing to vote on legislation that would bar illegal immigrant adults from enrolling in MinnesotaCare.
“I would like for you to put a face to the name, [a] face to what it is that we are doing here today, because I think that sometimes it’s easy for us to ‘other’ other people when we don’t know who they are,” Vang Her said to her fellow lawmakers.
The St. Paul legislator then explained that she always thought that her family was allowed to immigrate to the United States as a result of her grandfather fighting alongside American military forces during the Vietnam War. However, Vang Her said that she recently learned from her parents that this story was not entirely true.
According to Vang Her, her father worked in an American consulate processing paperwork for refugees who were moving to the United States. Despite this, her father was not on the list of those moving to America because he did not work either for the military or USAID.
Vang Her then appeared to say that her father used his consulate job to forge documents which allowed him and his family to be on the list of those going to America, although the lawmaker was not entirely clear in her explanation of how the paperwork was altered.
“And so I am illegal in this country,” said Vang Her. “My parents are illegal here in this country.”
Discussing the legislation that was before the House, Vang Her said: “I want you to think about who it is that you are calling illegal. My family was just smarter in how we illegally came here. We had more privileges and more ability which is why we came here in that way.”
In addition to these statements, the St. Paul lawmaker disclosed that her father is receiving end-of-life care and she first learned that her family’s immigration story was not what she thought as she has spent more time with her parents.
“My family broke the law to come here,” said Vang Her. “I never knew that, I just learned that now.”
Since then, a media firestorm has ignited around Vang Her. Social media posts and articles about her comments have gained significant traction online.
The DFL lawmaker shared a statement with KSTP in which she did not deny that her father forged paperwork to get his family to the United States, but she did say that her parents are U.S. citizens, she is a citizen, and she is her legally.
“Let me be absolutely clear: my parents are citizens, and so am I,” said Vang Her. “This clickbait directly contradicts the empathy and understanding I sought to foster and instead fueled anti-immigrant narratives with falsehoods. My family story should not have been weaponized to spread misinformation.”
“My family came to the United States in 1976. We came legally as refugees of the Vietnam War, where my grandfather was a Colonel, fighting with the CIA, in the Secret War. I have been a citizen for almost four decades,” added Vang Her.
The St. Paul lawmaker went on to say “I am legal.” She also said her family has lived the American Dream in a variety of ways and contributed significantly to the United States since arriving back in 1976.
“All refugees and immigrants, documented or not, have the right to seek a better life, to have safety for their family, and to fulfill their greatest potential — like all immigrants who came before them,” said Vang Her.
The DFL lawmaker was one of 65 other Democrats who voted against the legislation that bans illegal immigrant adults from accessing MinnesotaCare.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
