A Laotian national convicted of raping a 10-year-old girl has been removed from the United States after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he intervened to prevent a pardon from blocking the man’s deportation.
Rubio announced that Tue Lue Vang, whose clemency was approved last month by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the State Board of Pardons, has now been deported after the State Department terminated his legal status in the United States.
“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,” Rubio told Fox News Digital.
Rubio said Vang admitted to “heinous crimes” against a 10-year-old girl and accused Minnesota officials of allowing him to avoid deportation just days before he was scheduled to be removed from the country.
“That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States,” Rubio said. “Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”
Vang was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after authorities said he repeatedly raped the girl between 2002 and 2004. According to Fox News Digital, Vang told investigators after his arrest that it was “a cultural thing… to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.”
On June 10, Minnesota’s Board of Pardons—which consists of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson—granted Vang clemency following a recommendation from the state’s nine-member Clemency Review Commission.
In notifying Vang of the decision, a commission member wrote that receiving a pardon was “a notable achievement and a reflection of the work you have done since your conviction.”
The pardon immediately drew criticism from the Department of Homeland Security, whose officials warned it could complicate federal efforts to deport Vang.
“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said at the time.
Walz defended the decision, arguing Vang had become a productive member of society after serving his sentence.
“I can find no reason how Minnesota will be safer or better if Mr. Vang is deported to a country he has not been to since he was a child,” Walz said, describing Vang as a taxpaying resident who had remained crime-free following his release from prison.
Rubio’s announcement indicates the federal government ultimately moved forward with Vang’s removal despite the state-issued pardon.
Laotian national Tou Lue Vang was convicted of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl in Minnesota.
He was set to be deported until @GovTimWalz issued him a pardon.
Then, I revoked his legal status. @ICEgov has removed him from the U.S. and he will never endanger another… pic.twitter.com/WCJkeeheJO
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 10, 2026
Marco Rubio steps in after Tim Walz pardoned illegal alien child rapist before deportationhttps://t.co/XnWHCykka2
— Department of State (@StateDept) July 10, 2026
