A convicted child rapist formerly pardoned by Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was deported by immigration authorities Friday after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked his legal status.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials deported Laotian national Tou Lue Vang after the convicted sex offender was pardoned by Walz just days before he was set to be deported, Sec. Rubio announced on X.
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
Vang was convicted in 2006 of repeated sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl during a two-year period, removing his legal status. When questioned by police, Vang attempted to excuse his actions, telling law enforcement it was “a cultural thing […] to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” (RELATED: Tim Walz Approves Pardon For Illegal Immigrant Child Rapist Slated For Deportation)
Vang attempted to convince police the 10-year-old girl was just as guilty and should be arrested, a Department of Homeland Security press release noted.
Rubio stated that Vang was taken into custody by federal agents and removed from the county Friday after the criminal’s legal status was revoked.
“Because of our action, this foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again, Rubio said. “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.”
“This administration will always stand with the American people and defend them from violent criminals,” Rubio added.
The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, of which Gov. Walz is a member, approved the pardon for Vang on June 10, removing the conditions that would have required his deportation. Walz and other pardon officials acknowledged that the threat of deportation facing an individual is a factor considered in the pardon review, among many others, The New York Times reported.
Minnesota is listed by the Department of Justice as a sanctuary state, meaning it limits local and state authorities from assisting federal immigration agents. (RELATED: Here’s Everything Tim Walz Got Away With As Minnesota Governor)
Walz did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment prior to publication.