Minnesota State Rep. Admits To Illegal Immigration Status In House Speech

During a floor debate on House File 1, a bill seeking to restrict public health benefits for undocumented adult immigrants, Minnesota State Representative Kaohly Vang Her (D-St. Paul) made a startling admission: she and her family are in the U.S. illegally.

“I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal here in this country,” Her said from the House floor.

According to Her, her undocumented status stems from an immigration paperwork error committed by her father, who falsely listed Her’s grandmother as his mother in official documentation — a misrepresentation that invalidated the family’s legal status. (RELATED: Court Overturns Key Trump Law Enforcement Policy)

Fox News’ Greg Wehner has additional details on Her’s family’s immigration status since fleeing Vietnam:

Her said she has been spending a lot of time with her father, who brought the family to the U.S. at the end of the Vietnam War. At one point, she asked her father how he brought the family to the U.S.

She previously believed that her family was granted entry into the U.S. because her grandfather was a colonel in the war. But her father told her that was not true.

Her father worked for the U.S. Consulate, Her said, and was one of the few there who could speak English and type “really fast.”

Her said her father had moved to the consulate away from the refugee camp she, her mother and sisters lived at, and his job was to process all the paperwork for the refugees who came to America.

Her recalled that while her father worked at the consulate, the family missed multiple opportunities to leave the country before finally seizing their last chance.

Her’s mother reportedly told her the family was more than lucky.

“We did not have our names on that list to come to the U.S.,” Her said, explaining that the children of foreign nationals working for the CIA were not prioritized — even as Saigon teetered on the brink of collapse. “The only people that had names to come to the U.S. were if you were … in the military and you worked for the CIA or worked for USAID.”

The family ultimately found a loophole — by altering paperwork to gain entry into the United States.

“What my father did was, one of our uncles worked for USAID, and because his mother had died, my father, as the one processing the paperwork, put my grandmother down as his mother,” Her revealed. “And so, I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal here in this country. And when we were fleeing that situation, never one time did my family say, ‘Let’s look at which state has the greatest welfare and which state has the greatest benefits, because that’s the state we’re going to go to.’”

“Nobody leaves their country unless they have to leave that country,” she added.

Fallout: Legal Questions and Public Backlash

Her’s comments immediately sparked a firestorm. Critics online questioned whether the lawmaker had illegally voted or contributed to political campaigns, both prohibited for noncitizens under federal law. Social media posts tagging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quickly gained traction, with some users calling for her arrest.

As of this article’s publication, ICE has not released any statement or confirmed action regarding Her’s immigration status.

Her later claimed to be a naturalized citizen, according to the Minnesota Reformer:

In an interview with the Reformer, Her clarified that she and her parents are U.S. citizens. Her is a refugee from Laos and moved to the U.S. when she was three. Her’s parents took their U.S. citizenship test, and Her became a citizen as a minor when she was in middle school, she said.

Her said her father technically broke the law when he filled out paperwork for the family to come to the U.S. as refugees. He did so to expedite the process to come to the U.S., though they would have come to America anyway.

Her came to America along with a wave of Hmong refugees, who were critical allies to the United States during the Vietnam War and the “secret war” in Laos, assisting in intelligence operations, disrupting north Vietnamese supply routes and combating communism’s spread through Southeast Asia. Her’s grandfather was a colonel in the war, she said. As American allies, they faced violent recriminations from the communists after the war, which is why the U.S. welcomed them here, especially through laws like the Refugee Act of 1980.

Her’s father worked at the U.S. consulate, and he processed their family’s paperwork in a way to expedite their timeline to immigrate to the U.S. as refugees. People who were set to come to the U.S. as refugees could do so quicker if they had family connections to the military, CIA or USAID.

“Technically, you would say my father broke the law, right? But we would have come anyway,” Her told the publication. (RELATED: [WATCH] Fugitive’s Message To Trump Sparks Major Reaction)

Her said she wanted lawmakers to hear her story in hopes they would reconsider how they define and discuss illegal immigration. Ultimately, Minnesota House Republicans — joined by Democratic House caucus leader Melissa Hortman — voted to strip undocumented adults of access to MinnesotaCare. The Senate later followed suit.

A Broader National Context

Her’s admission comes amid heightened tensions nationwide, as over 2,700 active-duty troops and National Guard forces were deployed to Los Angeles in response to ongoing protests and civil unrest. The turmoil, which has reignited debates around border enforcement, public order, and national sovereignty, underscores how immigration issues continue to stir deep divisions across the country.

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