Minnesota state Representative Kaohly Vang Her secured an over-two-point victory in the St. Paul mayoral race on Tuesday, despite previously admitting her family falsified immigration paperwork to enter the United States.
Her, a Democrat from the Minnesota House of Representatives, defeated incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter (DFL) in the second round of ranked-choice voting, receiving fewer than 2,000 votes more than her opponent. During her victory speech, she stated, “My family came here as refugees,” and expressed gratitude to Carter for his years of service.
In June, Her revealed during a state House session that her father had brought the family to the U.S. by falsifying immigration documents. Born in Laos, she described how her father listed her maternal grandmother as his mother on federal forms to bypass eligibility restrictions, claiming, “I am illegal in this country.” She later clarified that her family would have qualified for relocation anyway, asserting the falsified records only expedited their process.
Her’s “uncle,” who had worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was later identified as a family friend rather than a blood relative. Since immigrating, Her has become a U.S. citizen.
