Trump administration deports convicted child sex offender pardoned by Minnesota governor
The Trump administration arrested and deported a Laotian national convicted of child sexual abuse despite a pardon granted by Minnesota's governor in June.
U.S. immigration authorities arrested and deported Laotian national Tou Lue Vang, a convicted child sex offender, on July 10 after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked his legal status, despite receiving a Minnesota pardon granted by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
“Because of our action, this foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again,” Rubio said in a video statement announcing Vang’s removal. “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.”
He said the Trump administration “will always stand with the American people and defend them from violent criminals.”
Vang, a 42-year-old who entered the U.S. in 1994 and received legal status under the Clinton administration, was convicted in 2006 of repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl between 2002 and 2004, beginning when she was only 10 years old, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release.
The department said Vang once offered the girl $10 to stay silent about the assaults. When questioned by police, he allegedly characterized his actions as “a cultural thing” and claimed his victim was equally guilty and should also be arrested.
An immigration judge issued a final removal order against Vang on Oct. 31, 2006. Deportation to Laos was delayed for years because Laos resisted accepting deportees from the U.S. But Vang was arrested by DHS during an operation in December 2025, and his removal appeared imminent, according to the release.
On June 10, the Minnesota Board of Pardons — including Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — voted to grant Vang a pardon.
“ICE deported Tou Vang, an illegal alien convicted child rapist. This monster repeatedly sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in the DHS release. “Tim Walz pardoned this sex criminal in an attempt to allow him to remain in our country. These are the criminal illegal aliens he and sanctuary politicians are protecting. We will always put the safety of the American people first.”
