The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it has deported a Minnesota man whose conviction for sexually abusing a child was unanimously pardoned by the Minnesota Board of Pardons last month.
The agency announced Friday that 42-year-old Tou Lue Vang had been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and deported.
The statement did not explicitly say where Vang was sent but indicated he was removed to his native Laos.
Vang came to the U.S. as a child and became a legal permanent resident.
In 2006, Vang was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a 10-year-old girl for abuse that began when he was 18.
He was sentenced to 30 years of probation. That same year, an immigration judge ordered him removed from the United States, but he remained in the country under federal supervision for nearly two decades.
Vang was arrested by ICE in December 2025. A federal immigration judge ordered his release two months later while his immigration case continued.
On June 10, Minnesota's Board of Pardons — Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — voted unanimously to grant Vang a full pardon.
During the hearing, Vang accepted responsibility for the crime.
"When I was 18, I began sexually abused a young victim. The idea was wrong. It was a serious crime," Vang told the board.
He also described his fear of deportation and its impact on his family.
“If I sent away, we lose everything. My children will lose their home, and they will lose their education, they will grow up without a father,” he said.
The hearing included an unusual request from the woman Vang sexually abused as a child. In a letter read aloud by a victim advocate, she urged the board to grant the pardon.
"What happened to me was wrong, but I've had many years to think about this. I have made my peace with it. I forgive him. That was a long time ago. It was over 20 years ago. He is not the same person now.”
Hudson cited that letter before casting her vote.
"We've seen some evidence here of rehabilitation, but obviously the victim's statement here is very significant for me," she said.
The Board of Pardons granted the pardon unanimously.
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security criticized the decision, saying Minnesota leaders had pardoned someone convicted of sexually abusing a child before his deportation.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office rejected that characterization, saying the pardon "does not protect Vang from deportation."
"The Minnesota Board of Pardons made a unanimous decision to grant Tou Vang this pardon after an exhaustive process which included a statement of support for the pardon from the victim, a recommendation to grant the pardon from the Clemency Review Commission, and a large number of community support letters," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also accused DHS of falsely suggesting the pardon prevented Vang's removal, saying the agency was "lying through their teeth" about the legal effect of the pardon.
Under federal immigration law, a state pardon does not necessarily eliminate the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction. Vang was deported despite receiving clemency from the state.
