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Trump administration DEPORTS illegal migrant pedophile weeks after woke Minnesota Governor Tim Walz pardoned him for rape of girl, 10 in bid to keep him in the US
The Trump administration has deported Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national convicted of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl in Minnesota, roughly a month after the state's Democratic Governor Tim Walz pardoned him in an apparent attempt to prevent his removal from the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the deportation in a video posted to X on Friday morning, saying he had personally revoked Vang's legal status, after which federal agents took him into custody and removed him from the country. The case has become a political flashpoint, pitting the federal administration's immigration enforcement against a state governor's use of clemency powers.
According to Rubio, Vang, 42, was convicted of repeatedly abusing the child over the 2005 assault, had tried to pay his victim for her silence, and described his crimes as a "minor thing". Walz issued the pardon on 10 June, just days before Vang was scheduled to be deported, sparking public outrage. It remains unclear whether Vang has been returned to Laos or taken elsewhere, though the article states he was deported to Laos.
In short
- Convicted child abuser Tou Lue Vang has been deported from the US.
- Rubio revoked his legal status weeks after Governor Walz pardoned him.
- Walz's June pardon had aimed to block Vang's scheduled deportation.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Clemency powers represent a constitutional prerogative of governors meant to correct perceived injustices or show mercy for rehabilitation. Once exercised, a pardon reflects the state's sovereign determination of criminal justice and shouldn't be automatically overridden by federal immigration enforcement. Federal immigration law shouldn't supersede legitimate state criminal justice decisions without clear legal necessity.
The case against
Federal immigration law provides independent grounds for removing non-citizens convicted of serious crimes, operating as a separate mechanism from state criminal justice. Immigration enforcement serves the critical interest of protecting public safety, particularly in cases of violent crimes against children, and exercising this authority doesn't improperly override state sovereignty but enforces legitimate federal law.
Explained simply
Tou Lue Vang is a Laotian national who was convicted in Minnesota of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl. The case became newsworthy because it raised fundamental questions about the relationship between state and federal authority over immigration matters.
In June 2026, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, issued a pardon for Vang. The pardon came just days before Vang was scheduled for deportation, a timing that prompted public debate and controversy.
The case highlights a legal complexity: whilst states can pardon crimes under their jurisdiction, the federal government retains separate authority to deport non-citizens under immigration law. How these two powers interact, particularly when they point in different directions, has become contested ground in current policy debates.