Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the legal status of a Laotian national “convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl in the state of Minnesota” after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pardoned the sexual offender as he was set to be deported.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on June 11, 2026, the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission granted Tou Lue Vang a gubernatorial pardon, roughly a week before his scheduled removal.
In response, Secretary Rubio stripped the criminal sex offender’s “legal status in the United States and, as a result, federal agents took him into custody” and removed him from the country.
“Because of our action, this foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again,” Secretary Rubio affirmed. “Americans must never be forced by their elected leaders to live alongside foreign sex criminals – who have no right to begin with to reside in our country.”
Tou Lue Vang's Conviction
According to court filings, Vang was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual misconduct after being found guilty of repeatedly sexually assaulting the minor between 2002 and 2004.
During the course of his incidents, Vang also attempted to bribe his victim with $10 to keep the sexual assaults hidden from the public.
In interviews with local law enforcement, Vang attempted to justify his crimes, alleging that “it is a cultural thing... to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” Vang also attempted to blame his victim, arguing that she should be prosecuted as well.
Vang's Legal Status
“Following his conviction, a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge issued Vang a final order of removal on October 31, 2006,” DHS wrote.
Gov. Walz’s pardon could have obstructed DHS’s attempt to remove Vang, as the foreign national was granted legal status under the Clinton administration in 1994.
