Just weeks after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison voted to pardon a Laotian national convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl, the Trump administration announced Friday that he has been deported from the United States after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked his legal status.
Rubio announced the deportation in a video posted to X, saying his decision ensured Tou Lue Vang “will never pose a threat to any American, ever again.”
“Just weeks ago, a convicted sex offender and a foreign national was shielded from deportation by the governor of Minnesota,” Rubio said. “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.”
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
Rubio blasted Walz over the pardon, arguing 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.”
“This administration will always stand with the American people and defend them from violent criminals,” he added.
The Department of Homeland Security also released a photograph that appears to show Vang boarding a deportation flight while escorted by two federal immigration agents.
.@ICEgov has DEPORTED Tou Vang, the illegal alien CHILD RAPIST @GovTimWalz pardoned in an attempt to allow him to remain in our country.
While Walz and his fellow sanctuary politicians fight to protect heinous criminals like this, we will continue putting the safety of the… https://t.co/QCzSnYh4zA pic.twitter.com/rjBXI5qhlj
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 10, 2026
As Alpha News previously reported, last month Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson unanimously voted to pardon Vang, who pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct after repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl over a period of more than two years.
In his application for clemency, Vang appeared to anticipate his impending deportation, writing: “Without the protection a pardon can provide, I face the very real risk of detention and deportation.”
Criminal complaint details repeated abuse
Content advisory: graphic details about sexual abuse
According to the 2005 criminal complaint, the girl told investigators that when she was in fourth grade, Vang — who later married her sister — entered her bedroom.
The complaint states: “[Victim] said that Vang sat down beside her, reached his hand into her pants and touched her vagina … She said that he put his fingers inside of her vagina and then pulled down his own pants and asked her to touch his penis, which she did. He then penetrated her vagina with his penis.”
The girl told police the assaults occurred at least “four or five times.”
The complaint also notes: “She recalled one incident when he came into her bedroom, put his penis into her mouth and ejaculated.”
The girl told police that Vang offered her “$10” for her silence.
When questioned by police, Vang admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim multiple times.
He also told investigators: “I made a mistake, but this is a minor thing. It is a cultural thing in Thailand to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.”
He further claimed that the 10-year-old victim “should be arrested also because she was as much at fault.”
Perhaps most shocking, despite pleading guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under 13, Vang never served a day in prison. Instead, the court imposed a stayed 144-month prison sentence and placed him on probation for 30 years. He was discharged from probation in 2019.
Minnesota Republicans praise deportation, criticize Democratic leaders
Several Minnesota Republicans took to social media to praise Rubio’s decision to deport Vang.
House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, posted on X: “Secretary Rubio was correct to act. Deport child predators. Do not pardon child predators. Not sure why that’s a hard concept for Tim Walz and Amy Klobuchar to understand.”
Michele Tafoya, who is running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, also criticized Walz, posting on X:
“Tim Walz had a choice. Protect an innocent girl, or protect the illegal immigrant who assaulted her. He chose the predator. Secretary Rubio and ICE cleaned up his mess and rightfully removed him from this country. Minnesota deserves leaders who protect kids, not criminals. Every time.”
In a statement Friday, Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Alex Plechash praised Rubio and the Trump administration for deporting Vang while sharply criticizing Walz, Ellison and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
“Secretary Marco Rubio and the Trump administration did what Tim Walz, Keith Ellison and Amy Klobuchar would not: they put the safety of American children first,” Plechash said.
Plechash also criticized Klobuchar’s statement reported by the Star Tribune about whether she agreed with Vang’s pardon. According to the outlet, Klobuchar stated, “I would want to look at the entire record before making a decision on any pardon case, but as a former prosecutor I have not supported pardons of sex offenders.”
Plechash called Klobuchar’s response “a calculated Washington dodge.”
Alpha News reached out to Klobuchar’s office for comment on Rubio’s remarks and Vang’s deportation but did not receive a response before publication. This story will be updated if one is received.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
