PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Minnesota State Representative Kaohly Vang Her (D) revealed that her father committed immigration fraud, meaning she and her parents are illegal immigrants.
👥 Who’s Involved: Rep. Kaohly Vang Her and other Minnesota lawmakers.
📍 Where & When: The remarks were made on Monday, June 9, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal here in this country,” Rep. Her said.
⚠️ Impact: While it appears that Representative Her is technically a naturalized U.S. citizen, the admission that her family committed immigration fraud in the course of attaining citizenship could result in federal action to denaturalize the Minnesota Democrat, resulting in the lawmaker being disqualified from office.
IN FULL:
A Democrat lawmaker in the Minnesota state House of Representatives admitted during a floor debate on Monday that she is an illegal immigrant. State Representative Kaohly Vang Her (D), during a debate on expanding illegal immigrant eligibility for MinnesotaCare, revealed that her father had committed immigration fraud, listing his grandmother as his mother, as the latter was deceased.
“Because his mother had died, my father—as the one processing the paperwork—put my grandmother down as his mother,” Rep. Her stated on the Minnesota House floor, apparently alluding to fraud committed on immigration paperwork. She continued: “And so I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal here in this country.”
Minnesota law stipulates that any person who holds office must be eligible to vote in state elections. Notably, only United States citizens can cast a ballot for state positions in Minnesota. This would suggest that Kaohly Vang Her, who came to the U.S. as a Hmong refugee, is ineligible to serve in the state legislature.
“My family was just smarter in how we illegally came here,” the Minnesota Democrat lawmaker said, adding: “My family broke the law to come here. I never knew that. I just learned that now.”
While Rep. Her appears to technically be a naturalized United States citizen, that status could be called into question as, by her own admission, her father made false statements when attaining legal residency in the country. Such acts can result in the federal government taking action to denaturalize an individual or individuals determined to have made false statements or concealed material facts on their immigration application.
WATCH:
🚨 BREAKING: A Minnesota State Representative just admitted to being an illegal immigrant on the MN House Floor just now.
Now that’s bold. @ICEgov pic.twitter.com/pD1fC8m6Nq
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) June 9, 2025