Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed that an individual who was granted clemency by Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and the State Board of Pardons has been removed from the United States. The man, identified as Tue Lue Vang, had been set for deportation after admitting to committing heinous crimes against a 10-year-old girl in Minnesota.
Vang was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and repeatedly raped the girl between 2002 and 2004. In a disturbing statement, Vang told authorities that "it is a cultural thing... to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12." Despite this, the Minnesota Board of Pardons, composed of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison, and state Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, chose to pardon Vang on June 10.
Rubio intervened to terminate Vang's legal status in the U.S. and prevent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from being hindered in their efforts to remove him from the country. "Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children," Rubio stated.
Minnesota's Governor Walz had previously defended Vang's pardon, stating that he had become a "critical member of the community" since his release from prison and falsely referred to him as a "citizen" of the United States. However, Rubio countered that Vang's actions posed a significant threat to public safety and that his removal from the country was a necessary measure to protect American families.
"Just weeks ago, a foreign child rapist was freed to once again endanger America's children after receiving a pardon from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz," Rubio said. "I terminated his legal status in the United States, and Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again."
