Overview
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that he terminated Tue Lue Vang’s U.S. immigration status and that Vang has been removed from the country.
- Vang was convicted in 2006 of first‑degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly raping a 10‑year‑old between 2002 and 2004 and completed state probation in 2019.
- Minnesota’s Board of Pardons, made up of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, granted Vang a pardon on June 10 after the state Clemency Review Commission recommended clemency.
- The Department of Homeland Security had warned the pardon could block deportation because federal removal orders often rely on state convictions, prompting federal officials to use administrative steps to restore removal authority.
- The case has become a political flashpoint that could prompt closer review of state clemency rules and may lead to legal and policy disputes over how state pardons interact with federal immigration enforcement.