Rubio Blocks Walz Pardon, Secures Deportation of Rapist
Secretary of State Marco Rubio intervened to block a pardon issued by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for an undocumented immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl, terminating his legal status and securing his deportation on July 10, 2026. The case has ignited a fierce debate over the limits of state clemency powers versus federal immigration enforcement.
The Case
Tue Lue Vang, 42, a Laotian national who entered the United States in 1994 and was granted permanent residency under the Clinton administration, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly assaulting a child between 2002 and 2004. According to court documents cited by the Department of Homeland Security, Vang attempted to pay his victim $10 for her silence and told police that assaulting young girls was “a cultural thing.”
He received a suspended 12-year prison sentence, 30 years of supervised probation, and one year in a county workhouse, of which he served eight months. A DOJ immigration judge issued a final order of removal on October 31, 2006.
The Pardon
On June 10, 2026, the Minnesota Board of Pardons — composed of Governor Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — voted unanimously to grant Vang clemency following a recommendation from the state’s Clemency Review Commission. As Fox News reported, the pardon came just days before Vang was scheduled to be deported.
In a statement, Walz defended the decision, saying: “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.” He described Vang as a “taxpaying citizen” — though Vang was a legal permanent resident, not a U.S. citizen.
The victim herself wrote a letter supporting the pardon, stating: “What happened to me was wrong, but I have had many years to think about this. I have made my peace with it. I forgive him,” according to FOX 9 Minneapolis.
Federal Intervention
DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis condemned the pardon on July 1, calling it “disgusting” and warning it would remove the “qualifying convictions” that made Vang removable. But it was Secretary Rubio who took the decisive step, terminating Vang’s legal status entirely.
“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 said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children.”
As the New York Post reported, Rubio revoked Vang’s legal status, and DHS deported him on July 10. Vang was removed to Laos, a country with which the U.S. has no formal repatriation agreement, though the Trump administration has increased pressure on the Southeast Asian nation to accept deportees.
Broader Context
This is the second instance in two months in which Minnesota’s Board of Pardons granted clemency to a Laotian immigrant facing deportation. In May, the board pardoned Jai Vang, another Laotian national convicted of armed robbery, before he could be removed.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) criticized Walz on social media, writing: “I’m angry and disgusted at yet another action by our feckless governor that puts violent illegal aliens ahead of innocent Americans.”
Legal and Political Implications
The case raises significant constitutional questions about the interplay between state clemency powers and federal immigration authority. While a Minnesota pardon “sets aside the conviction and purges it from your criminal record,” it does not affect federal immigration law. Rubio’s termination of Vang’s legal status effectively bypassed the pardon’s effect entirely.
According to Newsweek, Vang was born in a Thai refugee camp in 1983 and entered the U.S. as a child. He was detained in December 2025 under the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge” crackdown on illegal immigration and benefit fraud.
What’s Next
The Trump administration’s willingness to use diplomatic tools to override state clemency decisions sets a significant precedent. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office noted that while the pardon removes the underlying reason for deportation proceedings, the federal government is not obligated to restore Vang’s residency status. The case is likely to further inflame tensions between sanctuary jurisdictions and federal immigration authorities, with potential implications for future clemency decisions nationwide.