Rubio Revokes Legal Status of Walz-Pardoned Child Predator, Ensuring Deportation

Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week revoked the legal status of Laotian national Tou Lue Vang, a convicted child sex predator pardoned last month by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, paving the way for federal agents to arrest and deport him from the United States.

The move comes just weeks after the Minnesota Board of Pardons — which includes Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — unanimously granted clemency to Vang on June 10, effectively wiping his criminal record and potentially shielding him from longstanding deportation orders.

Vang, who arrived in the U.S. as a child refugee from Laos in 1994, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl between 2002 and approximately 2005.

Court records show he pleaded guilty in a deal that spared him prison time but resulted in a stayed 12-year sentence, eight months in a county workhouse, and 30 years of supervised probation, which was discharged in 2019.

He reportedly attempted to pay his victim for her silence and later described the crimes as “minor things.”

Following his conviction, Vang lost his legal status and was placed in removal proceedings.

An immigration judge issued a final order of removal in 2006.

He was facing imminent deportation when the pardon was granted, which critics say was designed to strip away the convictions that made him removable under federal law.

In a video posted to X, Rubio detailed the administration’s response: “Just weeks ago, a foreign child rapist was freed to once again endanger America’s children after receiving a pardon from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Just days before he was scheduled to be deported, the Minnesota Governor pardoned him, setting him free to endanger American families once again. Well, this week I revoked his legal status in the United States and as a result, federal agents took him into custody and as of today, he has been removed from the United States. Because of our action, this foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”

Rubio added that Vang “even tried to pay his victim for her silence” and referred to the crimes as “minor things.”

He told Fox News Digital that “Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children. That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States. Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”

The Department of Homeland Security condemned the pardon, with Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stating: “Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting. These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting. Tou Lue Vang lost his legal status following his conviction for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. Following the conviction, he was placed in removal proceedings and issued a final order of removal by a judge. This pardon will take away this child rapist’s qualifying convictions that made him removable from the United States.”

The pardon has drawn sharp bipartisan criticism, with Minnesota House Republican Floor Leader Harry Niska calling it “despicable” and “morally indefensible,” accusing Walz and Ellison of putting criminals ahead of public safety and using clemency to obstruct federal immigration enforcement.

Rubio’s revocation of Vang’s legal status underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to restoring federal authority over immigration and prioritizing the removal of dangerous criminal aliens.

State pardons, while restoring certain civil rights under state law, do not automatically erase immigration consequences under federal statute.

By acting decisively, Rubio ensured that Walz’s clemency did not create a loophole allowing a convicted child predator to remain in the country.