Rubio added that Vang “even tried to pay his victim for her silence” and referred to the crimes as “minor things.”

He told Fox News Digital that “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. That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States. Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”

The Department of Homeland Security condemned the pardon, with Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stating: “Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting. These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting. Tou Lue Vang lost his legal status following his conviction for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. Following the conviction, he was placed in removal proceedings and issued a final order of removal by a judge. This pardon will take away this child rapist’s qualifying convictions that made him removable from the United States.”

The pardon has drawn sharp bipartisan criticism, with Minnesota House Republican Floor Leader Harry Niska calling it “despicable” and “morally indefensible,” accusing Walz and Ellison of putting criminals ahead of public safety and using clemency to obstruct federal immigration enforcement.

Rubio’s revocation of Vang’s legal status underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to restoring federal authority over immigration and prioritizing the removal of dangerous criminal aliens.

State pardons, while restoring certain civil rights under state law, do not automatically erase immigration consequences under federal statute.

By acting decisively, Rubio ensured that Walz’s clemency did not create a loophole allowing a convicted child predator to remain in the country.