Overview
- The Minnesota Board of Pardons granted a full pardon to Tou Lue Vang on June 10, 2026, following a 4–2 recommendation from the state Clemency Review Commission.
- Commission documents released to reporters show four commissioners cited rehabilitation, statements attributed to the victim and family support, and immigration hardship when recommending clemency.
- Federal officials said the pardon did not block immigration action and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on July 10, 2026 that Vang’s U.S. legal status had been terminated and he had been removed to Laos.
- Vang was convicted in 2006 of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl who was 10 when the abuse began; his 12‑year sentence was stayed for 30 years of supervised probation, he served roughly eight months in local confinement, and he was discharged from probation in 2019.
- The case illustrates a legal and policy gap: a state pardon can erase a state conviction record but it does not automatically nullify a separate federal removal order, and the episode has prompted renewed debate over clemency transparency, public safety, and federal‑state authority.