The Department of Homeland Security is ripping Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after his administration pardoned a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl — just one week before the man was scheduled to be deported.
Tou Lue Vang was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a preteen. He lost his legal status after the conviction and received a final order of removal. But on June 10, 2026, Minnesota’s Board of Pardons — which includes Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Justice Natalie Hudson — voted to pardon him.
The pardon came one week before his planned deportation to Laos.
“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting.”
“Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” acting assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said. “These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting.”
According to DHS, the pardon could now “thwart his removal from the United States.”
Court records reveal Vang repeatedly sexually assaulted a girl between 2002 and 2004, when she was under 13 years old. He allegedly offered the victim $10 to keep quiet about the abuse.
During law enforcement interviews at the time, Vang reportedly blamed his culture, claiming it was permissible to “marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” DHS also said Vang told investigators the girl he abused was equally guilty and “should be arrested too.”
Vang entered the U.S. in 1994 and was granted legal status by the Clinton administration. He pleaded guilty on October 31, 2005, to “penetration or contact with a person under 13 years old by an actor more than 36 months older.” He was sentenced in February 2006 to 12 years with the sentence stayed, plus 30 years of supervised probation.
His legal status was revoked after conviction, and he received a final order of removal in 2006.
Ellison’s office defended the pardon in a statement to The New York Times, saying the Board made “a unanimous decision to grant Tou Vang this pardon after an exhaustive process which included a statement of support for the pardon from the victim.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also weighed in on social media, highlighting the timing of the pardon.
The Minnesota Board of Pardons voted June 10 to grant Tou Lue Vang, of Laos, a pardon for his 2006 convictions for sexual assault—strongarm sodomy and procuring a child for prostitution. This pardon came just a week before Vang was set to be REMOVED from our nation.…
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) July 1, 2026
“The Minnesota Board of Pardons voted June 10 to grant Tou Lue Vang, of Laos, a pardon for his 2006 convictions for sexual assault — strongarm sodomy and procuring a child for prostitution,” ICE posted on X. “This pardon came just a week before Vang was set to be REMOVED from our nation.”
Bis stressed the pardon undermines federal immigration enforcement and allows a convicted child sex offender to remain in the country.
“Tou Lue Vang lost his legal status following his conviction for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl,” Bis said. “Following the conviction, he was placed in removal proceedings and issued a final order of removal by a judge. This pardon will take away this child rapist’s qualifying convictions that made him removable from the United States.”
The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.
