Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that the Trump administration has deported Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national previously convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. The deportation follows a federal revocation of Vang's legal status, an action taken just weeks after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) and the state’s clemency board granted Vang a pardon.
"This foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again." — Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
Vang's criminal history dates back to 2006, when he was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the conviction stemmed from repeated sexual assaults against a girl between 2002 and 2004, which began when the victim was 10 years old. Authorities noted that Vang offered the victim $10 to remain silent and later told investigators the abuse was "a cultural thing." The criminal complaint indicated Vang admitted to multiple assaults and claimed the victim shared responsibility. He received a 12-year prison sentence but served time in a county workhouse and remained on supervised probation for years instead of serving the full prison term.
Following his 2006 conviction, an immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Vang after he lost his legal status. However, Laos initially refused to accept his return. Consequently, federal authorities released Vang under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) supervision in 2007, where he remained in the United States for nearly two decades. He was detained again by ICE in late 2025. Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered his release from immigration custody, ruling that the government had not adequately justified his continued detention at the time of his arrest, as reported by The Washington Times.
On June 10, the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, comprised of Governor Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, unanimously voted to pardon Vang. State officials stated that the board considered evidence of rehabilitation, expressions of remorse from Vang, and a letter from the victim supporting clemency. Vang's pardon application also acknowledged the potential for detention and deportation without clemency. Ramsey County prosecutors had opposed the pardon, according to the American Almanac.
Secretary Rubio, in a video announcing Vang's deportation, sharply criticized the Minnesota pardon. He asserted that 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." Rubio explained that revoking Vang's legal status through federal authority enabled federal agents to take him into custody and remove him from the country. "This foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again," Rubio stated. DHS confirmed the deportation and released a photo purportedly showing Vang boarding a removal flight under ICE escort. Federal officials maintained that Minnesota’s clemency decision did not prevent immigration authorities from enforcing federal removal laws. DHS further criticized the clemency decision, describing it as an attempt to shield a convicted child sex offender from deportation. While Rubio did not identify the specific country that ultimately accepted Vang, multiple reports indicated he was deported to Laos.
The case has garnered national attention, highlighting the ongoing tension and debate over the intersection of state clemency powers and federal immigration enforcement. It underscores the complexities when state judicial and executive decisions interact with federal mandates concerning the removal of non-citizens convicted of serious crimes. The differing perspectives on Vang's status and the appropriate course of action illustrate a broader discussion about rehabilitation, public safety, and the limits of governmental authority across different levels of jurisdiction. The Trump administration's swift action to deport Vang despite the state pardon signals a firm stance on immigration enforcement, particularly concerning individuals with serious criminal records.
