KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the legal status of Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz granted him clemency
- Vang was facing deportation when Walz’s pardon stripped away convictions that made him removable under federal law; Rubio’s action enabled federal agents to arrest and remove him from the U.S.
- The Trump administration moved swiftly to overturn what critics call an illegal attempt to shield a foreign sex predator from deportation through state clemency
- Department of Homeland Security condemned Walz’s decision as prioritizing criminal protection over public safety
Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week revoked the legal status of a convicted child sex predator pardoned by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, enabling federal agents to arrest and deport the dangerous alien from American soil. The decisive action represents the Trump administration’s refusal to allow state-level clemency to create loopholes that shield convicted criminals from federal immigration enforcement.
Swift Federal Action Overturns State Pardon
Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national who arrived in the U.S. as a child refugee in 1994, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl between 2002 and 2005. Following his conviction, immigration authorities placed him in removal proceedings, and a federal judge issued a final deportation order in 2006.
On June 10, the Minnesota Board of Pardons-which includes Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson-unanimously granted clemency to Vang, effectively erasing his criminal convictions and positioning him to avoid deportation just days before his scheduled removal.