Phu Nguyen, 57, believed to be an Australian citizen, has been arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles after bystanders interrupted an earlier attempt by agents to detain him at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
Arrest Attempt at Las Vegas Airport
Chris Motley, a film-maker, posted footage on social media of the attempted arrest on Monday. The video shows Nguyen shouting while a man and a woman wearing surgical masks held him to the ground and handcuffed him. “I don’t know what they’re doing,” Nguyen said. An airport security officer stood between Nguyen and a growing crowd of bystanders before the two people stood up and walked away, leaving handcuffs dangling from one of Nguyen’s wrists. “Where are they going?” Nguyen said.
Motley wrote on Instagram that police arrived shortly afterwards but Nguyen was partially handcuffed for over an hour. “The man was checked out by a medical team before boarding his flight, thankfully he was OK and able to catch it,” Motley said.
ICE Statement and Detention
ICE Los Angeles said Nguyen, originally of Vietnam, had overstayed his visa, in a post on X. It claimed Nguyen had enjoyed “attempts by agitators to help him evade ICE officers at Las Vegas airport”. Nguyen was taken into custody on Tuesday after he landed in Los Angeles.
Political Condemnation
Democratic senator Jacky Rosen, of Nevada, condemned the agency’s “violent attempted arrest of an elderly man” in posts on social media. She wrote: “Plain clothes. No uniforms. No body cameras. No identification. ICE is continuing to act with impunity – instilling fear in our communities and scaring tourists, which hurts our tourism economy.”
Australian Government Response
Australia’s department of foreign affairs and trade said it was making urgent inquiries after reports that an Australian citizen had been detained in the United States. While the department can provide consular assistance to any Australian citizen, it cannot get Australians out of prison.
Broader Context
The ABC reported that the US Department of Homeland Security described Nguyen as “illegal alien and citizen of Australia … born in Vietnam”. US officials are facing mounting calls to force ICE off American streets after agents killed two men who were not the target of enforcement action in less than a week. There have been 22 deaths in ICE custody in 2026. In a post on X on Friday, top US Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer criticised Donald Trump’s administration for its mass hiring of ICE officers to enforce aims of mass deportation. “The Trump administration rushed 12,000 agents onto our streets without ensuring they were fit to carry a badge and a gun – and Republicans gave this rogue agency vast power and no accountability,” Schumer wrote.
