Deported Anyway: Trump Team Overrules Walz

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed off on a unanimous pardon for a man convicted of raping a 10-year-old girl, only to watch the Trump administration deport him anyway weeks later.

Story Snapshot

The Minnesota Board of Pardons voted unanimously on June 10, 2026, to fully pardon Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian immigrant convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.
Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson all voted for the pardon.
The Board of Pardons rejected at least four other pardon requests from sex offenders this year, three of whom also faced deportation.
The Department of Homeland Security deported Vang last month despite the pardon, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the removal.

Unanimous Vote Clears a Path Around Deportation

The Minnesota Board of Pardons voted unanimously to erase Vang’s 2006 felony conviction for strongarm sodomy and procuring a child for prostitution. That conviction had formed the legal basis for a removal order issued the same year. Wiping it away was meant to stop Vang’s deportation to Laos, which officials said was imminent before the board acted.

Board members reviewed a forgiveness letter from the now-adult victim before casting their votes. Vang also submitted his own letter expressing regret and arguing that a pardon could help him avoid deportation. State law does give the board legal authority to grant clemency. But using that power to shield a child rapist from removal from the country left many Minnesotans stunned.

Board Turned Down Other Sex Offenders This Year

Records show the same board rejected at least four pardon requests from convicted sex offenders this year alone, three of whom were also facing deportation. That pattern raises hard questions about why Vang’s case was treated differently. Minnesota House Republican Floor Leader Harry Niska blasted the decision, noting Vang had repeatedly assaulted a child over an extended period.

Documents from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, reviewed by Fox News, show officials cited both “immigration concerns” and rehabilitation as reasons for recommending the pardon, on a 4-1 vote before it reached the full board. Governor Walz’s own comments at the hearing offered little clarity, with a transcript showing him call the situation “outrageous” without laying out a clear legal justification for freeing Vang from his conviction.

Trump Administration Deports Vang Anyway

Attorney General Ellison said the 2006 removal order technically stayed in place and that the Trump administration could restart deportation proceedings if it chose to. That is exactly what happened. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement titled “Minnesota Madness,” calling the pardon “disgusting” and accusing Minnesota’s leaders of protecting a “criminal illegal alien”.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Vang’s deportation, and Minnesota Public Radio reported the removal took place last month, despite the board’s apparent goal of preventing it. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer called the pardon “feckless” and accused Minnesota officials of putting “violent illegal aliens ahead of innocent Americans”.

Spencer Pratt is ripping into Gov. Tim Walz after Walz defended the pardon of a convicted child rapist who was later deported by the Trump administration.

"If you find yourself defending a child molester… you probably need to have your hard drives checked," Pratt posted on X.… pic.twitter.com/BB8uBMvNRb

— Mike Netter (@nettermike) July 19, 2026

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt drew national attention to the case, publicly ripping into Walz for defending the pardon after Vang’s deportation became public. State pardons colliding with federal immigration enforcement is not new; governors across the country have long used clemency to soften collateral consequences of old convictions, even when Washington refuses to honor the outcome. In this case, the collision ended with Vang out of the country, but only after Minnesota’s own process let a child rapist walk free from his conviction on paper.