Marco Rubio Revokes Status to Deport Pardoned Sex Offender

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the deportation of Tou Lue Vang, a 42-year-old Laotian national, on July 10, 2026. Vang had been convicted in 2006 of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in Minnesota between 2002 and 2004. Despite a final removal order issued in 2006, Vang remained in the U.S. for two decades, partly due to Laos's historical refusal to accept large numbers of deportees.

On June 10, 2026, Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Board of Pardons granted Vang clemency. Attorney General Keith Ellison defended the unanimous decision, citing an exhaustive process that included a statement of support from the victim and a recommendation from the Clemency Review Commission. Governor Walz argued that Vang had become a productive, taxpaying citizen and that deportation would not make Minnesota safer.

In response, Rubio terminated Vang's legal immigration status, asserting that the state pardon was an attempt to shield a foreign sex offender from deportation and endanger American children. This action enabled U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take Vang into custody and remove him from the country. DHS officials and Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth condemned the pardon as "disgusting," while Senator Amy Klobuchar stated she would not have supported the clemency. The Attorney General's Office countered that the pardon did not protect Vang from federal deportation and accused the DHS of lying.