by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News July 10, 2026

A convicted child rapist who was pardoned by Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz days before he was to be deported has had his legal status in the U.S. terminated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Tou Lue Vang, a 42-year-old Laos national, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl, starting when she was 10, for several years, according to court records.

Walz’s pardon allowed the pedophile to remain in the U.S., but Rubio’s revocation of Vang’s legal status paved the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport Vang back to Laos.

“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. Tou Lue Vang admitted to committing heinous crimes against a 10-year-old girl in Minnesota,” Rubio said in a July 10 statement.

Rubio said Vang had “attempted to pay his victim for her silence and dismissed his acts of child abuse as a ‘minor thing.’ Just days before he was scheduled to be deported, the Minnesota Governor pardoned him, setting him free to endanger American families once again.”

According to court records reviewed by Valley News Live, Vang pleaded guilty on Oct. 31, 2005 to first-degree criminal sexual conduct — specifically, penetration or contact with a person under 13 years old by an actor more than 36 months older. He was sentenced Feb. 16, 2006 in Ramsey County District Court to 12 years, with the sentence stayed. He served time at the Ramsey County Workhouse and was placed on 30 years of supervised probation. His probation was discharged in March 2019.

Court records reviewed by Valley News Live list the offense date as 2002. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the assaults continued through 2004. DHS says that during a police interview, Vang attempted to justify his actions by saying that for him “it is a cultural thing…to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12,” and claimed the victim was equally at fault.

“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. That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States. Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again,” Rubio said.

“The U.S. Department of State extends its appreciations to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their continued collaboration and partnership in keeping Americans safe.”

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  Deported: Rubio terminates legal status of child rapist pardoned by Minnesota’s Walz, WorldTribune.com