Walz Doubles Down On Defense Of Deported Child Rapist

Minnesota Governor Questions Deportation of Convicted Sex Offender Following Pardon

Governor Tim Walz stated on Tuesday that the deportation of Tou Lue Vang did not advance the principle that individuals should not be judged solely by their most serious offense. Vang, a Laotian national, had been convicted in Minnesota of repeated sexual assaults on a minor and was removed from the United States last week after federal authorities executed a 2006 deportation order.

Walz addressed the removal during public remarks, asking whether the action increased public safety or stability for affected children. He also questioned the fairness of deportation for individuals with U.S.-citizen children when prior opportunities for removal had not been pursued over three decades. The comments followed a pardon granted last month by Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson.

Vang entered the United States in 1994 and received legal status during the Clinton administration, according to Department of Homeland Security records. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on October 31, 2006, after his criminal conviction. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed that Vang had been deported.

Court records show that beginning in 2002, when Vang was 18, he engaged in repeated sexual intercourse with a girl who was 10 at the start of the offenses. The conduct continued for approximately two years. Investigators reported that Vang offered the victim payment in exchange for not reporting the activity. Upon arrest, Vang told police the conduct was minor and referenced cultural practices in Thailand involving marriage and sexual activity with girls as young as 12. He also suggested the victim should face charges.

Vang received a sentence of eight months at the Ramsey County Correctional Workhouse and 30 years of supervised probation. Prosecutors noted that the victim’s family pressured her against cooperating with law enforcement during the case.

The Minnesota Clemency Review Commission recommended the pardon in a 4-2 vote, citing immigration consequences and stating that deportation would not serve the best interest of society. The three officials accepted the recommendation. The victim later submitted a statement to the Minnesota Board of Pardons expressing forgiveness for Vang and supporting the pardon on the grounds that it would allow his family to remain together.

Vang has several children, some of whom are U.S. citizens. Walz referenced the impact of removal on such families when discussing the case, noting that children in similar situations hold citizenship and questioning the process used to effect the deportation.

The sequence began with Vang’s 1994 arrival and legal status grant, followed by the 2002-2004 offenses, the 2006 deportation order, the recent pardon action, and the subsequent removal announced by federal officials. The pardon did not alter the underlying conviction or the final deportation order issued two decades earlier.