A Minnesota Democrat lawmaker stunned her colleagues Monday by admitting, on the House floor, that she and her family entered the United States illegally. Rep. Kaohly Vang Her shared her story while pleading for continued taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants through the state’s MinnesotaCare program.
Rep. Her stated, “And so, I am illegal in this country… My parents are illegal here in this country.” She recounted how her father, a worker at the U.S. consulate after the Vietnam War, falsified federal immigration paperwork to bring the family to America. “My father… put my grandmother down as his mother,” she said, explaining how her family used the status of a non-relative “uncle” to exploit immigration channels meant for U.S. government employees and their families.
The admission quickly spread across conservative media. Though Rep. Her attempted to walk back the comments in a later interview with the Minnesota Reformer, she repeated that her father “technically broke the law” to speed up their entry into the U.S.
Rep. Her’s emotional testimony aimed to put a face to the term “illegal” as she urged lawmakers to maintain healthcare access for undocumented residents. “My family was just smarter in how we illegally came here,” she said. But Republicans weren’t moved. They voted to roll back illegal immigrant eligibility for MinnesotaCare by the end of 2025.
Though Rep. Her and her family are now citizens, the confession sparked serious concerns about immigration fraud, misuse of government positions, and the growing normalization of unlawful entry into the U.S.