Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has faced significant backlash for his decision to pardon Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national convicted of sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl, an act that allowed Vang to be deported by the Trump administration.
Vang, who entered the U.S. illegally in 1994 and was granted legal status under the Clinton administration, received an order of removal in 2006 following his conviction for repeated sexual assaults between 2002 and 2004. As his deportation neared, Vang appealed to Governor Walz for a pardon. On June 10, Walz, alongside Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, granted the clemency.
The pardon was reportedly influenced by a letter from Vang's victim, who stated she forgave him and supported the measure. Vang himself admitted in his clemency request that his actions were wrong and expressed concern about his six children remaining in the U.S. without him.
However, the pardon was overruled by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who revoked Vang's legal status, leading to his deportation to Laos by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Rubio stated that "this foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again."
Walz questioned the deportation, asking if it made the public safer or if it stabilized the children left behind. He also raised concerns about due process for individuals with U.S. citizen children. Walz also made a potentially inaccurate statement that both he and Vang were minors when Vang began the assaults, though records indicate Vang was 18 and the victim was 10 at the time.
Minnesota House Republican Speaker Lisa Demuth criticized Walz, stating, "Deport child predators. Do not pardon child predators." U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, also a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate, distanced herself from the decision, saying, "As a former prosecutor I have not supported pardons for sex offenders and would not have voted for this pardon."
Historically, Vang's deportation was facilitated by an informal arrangement between the U.S. and Laos, which previously lacked a formal repatriation agreement. Under the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies, Laos has begun accepting deportees, with over 100 Laotians, including Vang, having been returned to the country.