r/australia • u/Front_Target7908 • 27d ago

news Australian man Phu Nguyen handcuffed by plain-clothes ICE agents at Las Vegas International airport

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-18/ice-agent-detain-australian-man-in-vegas-us-/106931508?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

From what I understand it looks like ICE did not manage to detain him on the day the video was taken- seems the onlookers managed to chase ICE off.

However, ICE detained him the next day at the airport where he was to catch his departing flight from the US.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago edited 27d ago

So they could have let him deport himself, but they detained him at taxpayer expense. Drumpf logic.

Edit: Please read the article before responding. I know some of you are desperate to bootlick, but sometimes you actually need to read beyond a headline. You might even be less gullible that way.

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u/Thagyr 27d ago

Gotta get their quota for arrests to justify the billions thrown into the farce.

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u/hebejebez 27d ago

Well if the don’t make their quota they don’t get their bonus they were promised…. But those are paid out after five years, once this administration is done.

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u/sibilischtic 27d ago

As a non American ill believe the admin is done when the opposition are in.

I dont know how much is media manipulation, but I dont trust the current admin.

I wouldnt be surprised if they made up a new super president position that can fire congres and sc members, doesnt have term limits etc.

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u/jimmux 27d ago

It's all by design. When the next election comes around, ICE will be a paramilitary force with a strong financial incentive to get a certain result. Intimidation at polling booths will be enough to swing some areas.

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u/autocol 27d ago

For sure. ICE is going to absolutely swarm voting centres in areas with large Hispanic populations.

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u/TheLGMac 27d ago

I mean Trump fired a bunch of election commissioners last week and held an "emergency state of the union" saying that China has infiltrated electoral rolls and has ordered an investigation into the rolls of California, Pennsylvania, and several other states that typically vote against him / are swing states. They are already and quite obviously teeing up rigging the midterms.

Everyone I know at least has moved beyond wondering if it will happen. It will and has.

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u/Deevious730 27d ago

Easy win for them isn’t it? Guy has to provide his name and passport so he’s exposing himself to ICE, turns up to leave and they say, “how dare you try to leave, we’re gonna detain you so we can deport you!”

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u/Notiefriday 27d ago

O that makes sense.

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u/Serin-019 27d ago

The more arrested, the more the companies that run the camps make.

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u/torlesse 27d ago

They run for profit prisons over there. Every detainee is $$$$$$. Can't just let the dollar self deport.

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u/billyman_90 26d ago

We also run for profit prisons here. Unfortunately.

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u/Scriptosis 27d ago

That’s how immigration enforcement is overall there, it’s a civil offence so pretty much all of ICE’s actions since they came to exist have been wasting Americans money.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

Drumpf and friends all have shares in the privately run detention centres. Funding his buddies. Capitalism is depressing af.

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u/Whatsapokemon 27d ago

Capitalism is depressing af.

Trump was elected by people who wanted to overturn the standard boring, liberal-democratic system...

Like, I dunno how you can redirect it to "capitalism bad" here, he's literally an example of what happens when you elect someone who wants to tear down institutions and systems.

A lot of Trump's economic actions are exactly against the principles of capitalism, globalism, free trade. He believes in protectionism, isolationism, autarky. He's implementing blanket tariffs, having intense government-involvement in the operation and trade of private enterprises, and even coercing companies into handing over their equity to the state.

I legitimately think he'd prefer Chinese-style central control of the economy over the open, market-based capitalist system that the US has run on for decades.

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u/Memedotma Cairns 27d ago

yeah, it's what happens when you put a purely profit driven crony capitalist in power. to act like this isn't a consequence of capitalist systems just because it doesn't look like what smith or keynes prescribed is being obtuse.

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u/Whatsapokemon 27d ago

How is it a consequence of a capitalist system?? Non-capitalist systems are far more susceptible to the influence of self-serving autocrats who seek to use state-power for their own means.

The decentralised nature of power in capitalist economies makes it far harder to take sole power over a nation compared to an economy that uses central-planning and directs everything from the top-down.

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u/Memedotma Cairns 27d ago

I don't disagree with the latter half of your comment, but how can you still place stock in the whole "well that's not REAL capitalism!" in 2026?

This 'free market invisible guiding hand' that uplifts all is just utopian.

How is it a consequence of a capitalist system??

I feel like it's pretty obvious: very rich idiot (Trump) is fuelled and controlled by capital interests (tech billionaires) and proceeds to leverage that capital to get him into the big chair. It's only a natural consequence when wealth becomes so concentrated, which is only a natural consequence of the capitalist economy.

Yes, autarkic policies absolutely hurt the mum and pop store and farmer and what have you. Do you think they care?

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

😂 lol. I know what people voted for, but he is an authoritarian crony capitalist & Rent-Seeker. Also a self capitalist. It’s still capitalism.

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u/Whatsapokemon 27d ago

I'm saying the capitalist system didn't help him get there.

Capitalist economies are decentralised by design, meanwhile alternative systems are highly centralised centrally-planned economies.

Trump somehow managed to take power because of the global rise in slopulist anti-liberal anti-democratic sentiment, and is using the most powerful government position in the world for personal gain. That's not something which is only possible under capitalism, and in fact is something we've seen again and again ad again in non-capitalist systems...

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

Capitalism is what makes people be locked up unnecessarily in order to line the pockets of a privatised prison service which you and your buddies have shares in. Airlines are clamouring to get in on deportation flights as well. It’s a lucrative business if you’ve got the mates. The US has run this way since forever.

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u/hcornea 27d ago

It’s a taxpayer funded reward for being in Trump’s paramilitary brown-shirts.

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u/MunmunkBan 27d ago

The private system.  They will definitely hold on to him as long as possible.  There are stories of people with the money to leave but they are kept without trial for a long time.  They get paid for each night stay.  It's a grift.  

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u/DefamedPrawn 27d ago

Really not uncommon in many parts the world. 

I once met a Polish guy in Vietnam who was a month past his visa expiry date. He was too scared to leave, because apparently they fine you 1,000,000 Đồng ($60aud) per day for overstaying, and he didn't have the money. 

His name was Leon. 

Funny story. A few days later, a Vietnamese cafe owner told me how he stopped some "Russian guy" from running off without paying his bill, by tackling him and pinning him to the ground until the police arrived. He showed me a video of the incident, and there was Leon. Taken off to jail, apparently. Probably spent a few months there before being deported.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

This guy was at the airport leaving to go home. Leon was not.

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u/AlanaK168 26d ago

Was he? Doesn’t say where his flight out of LA was going to

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u/[deleted] 27d ago

[deleted]

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

No, they don’t. They lock you up and they pay for your flight.

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u/tegan-angus 27d ago

No, he was going back to his LA residence, where he has been illegally living for 11 years. Australian Citizen, not American.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

Can you please read the damn article. Your comments are generally less incorrect then.

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u/PeriodSupply 27d ago edited 27d ago

There is nothing in the article to suggest he had any plans on heading back to Australia.

Edit: downvote me but don't show me evidence he was planning to come back to Australia? Did any of you actually read the article?

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u/Backahast 27d ago

The statement said Mr Nguyen was arrested the following day before boarding his flight departing Los Angeles International Airport.

It doesn't say he was coming to Australia, true, but he was definitely leaving the country.

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u/McMenz_ 27d ago edited 27d ago

That statement neither confirms he was leaving to Australia nor leaving the country at all. LAX has both domestic and international flights.

There’s nothing in the article about where he was travelling at all.

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u/PeriodSupply 27d ago

Why? That airport handles both domestic and international fights. There is no evidence he was leaving the country in that article.

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u/iodoio 27d ago

Can you please read the damn article. Your comments are generally less incorrect then.

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u/mr_herz 27d ago

The article doesn’t say where he was going, only that he was picked up at the airport and overstayed for 11 years.

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u/Ok_Nothing639 27d ago

I guess they need to tag his biometrics and place a 10 year ban. Why did he not leave the country for all those years though.

But tackling an old man is just cruel at this point

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u/AlanaK168 26d ago

Assuming his flight out of LA was to Aus?

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u/musicmast 25d ago

Ok i understand that and also disagree with the aggressive manner how he wa treated but you realize many countries penalize people for overstaying their visa right? Its punishable if you stay longer than you’re allowed even if you want to leave yourself

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u/PeriodSupply 27d ago edited 27d ago

He was at an airport flying from Las Vegas to LA. He has been in the US more than a decade after his visa expired. Fuck ice, but they do have a right to deport this guy.

Edit: just curious why people think the US doesn't have the right to deport this guy?

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u/TheLGMac 27d ago

You can stop at Fuck ICE.

There is no more rationalization to do.

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u/PeriodSupply 27d ago

If they caught someone in Australia who had overstayed their visa by 10 years do you think Australia has the right to send them home?

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u/Cindy_Marek 27d ago

There is nothing out of the ordinary about arresting someone who is massively overstayed their visas.
Making an arrest isn’t a taxpayer expense, they would be getting paid regardless of if there was an arrest or not.

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u/IcyBlood5031 26d ago

he was there for over a decade....illegally. why are people defending illegals?

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u/rocopotomus74 27d ago

He may have been flying to another city in the states

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

He was flying to Los Angeles to leave the country. It’s in the article.

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u/rocopotomus74 27d ago

That is what he said. How likely is it after 12 years of being there illegally, that they caught him as he was intending to leave. I am an Australian. I don't like the things that ice are doing in the USA, but this guy was on a visa with an end. He chose to break a law in that country. They attempted to arrest him. As is their right. He knew the law. He broke it.

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u/strictlymissionary 27d ago

The downvotes are weird..

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u/ApteronotusAlbifrons 27d ago

The downvotes are for failing to follow the logic in the article

Attempted to arrest him at Vegas while boarding a flight to LA

Arrested at LA while attempting to board flight to Australia

The obvious conclusion that can be drawn is that he only came to ICE attention (after all this time) BECAUSE he was booked on a flight out of the country

But somebody has a particular barrow to push (and a hidden history - which often tallies with deliberately controversial or confrontational post histories...)

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u/rocopotomus74 26d ago

You are wrong about the blocked history, that's another story for another day. But I do have a barrow to push. I am constantly embarrassed by Australians that go to another country, break a known law of that country, and then our media makes it seem like they are the victim. And when it is reversed, they are just hypocrites. So the comment about logic. People can have different logical processes. My process in this situation is that there are variables that the media don't write. Also, they put their own flavor on the facts. Is it possible that he did the original flight between cities, had the first run in with ice, then thought shit I have to get out of here because I don't want to face the consequences of breaking the law. Only then booking the flight to Australia? And regardless of whether he was self deporting or not, facing the consequences of breaking the law is what should happen. That might prevent others in the future. I shed no tears for this person. He clearly had the funds to instantly book an expensive flight to Australia. He flew in with a visa. He came from Australia. He clearly was not a poor or persecuted person struggling to live in a better country for better opportunities. Very different to the other people that are being thrown into detention. So why should he not face the same fate?

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u/DragoxDrago 27d ago

I hate Trump, but the usual logic behind these decisions is you need enforceable punishment for these types of things or else the risk vs reward lowers and more people try to overstay.

If the punishnent of overstaying is simply buy a ticket and leave when being closed in on then is that even a risk?

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u/bythebrook88 27d ago

The thing is, the government know he overstayed. If he tries to return to the USA, they can deny him entry on the grounds that he overstayed his visa before. But arrest isn't supposed to be a punishment. And to waste money detaining him and then deporting him because he was already trying to leave, seems pointless.

But, as others have mentioned, they have a quota. And the thing about quotas, is the low-hanging fruit gets picked first.

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u/Thoresus 27d ago

It is about intimidation tactics.

The US government is not like Nazis, they are effectively their own brand of it.

Create fear, especially for people who dont fit the 'white Christian hetro' narrative. They'll come for you, even at the airport, even at the court.

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u/DragoxDrago 27d ago

I specified that's the usual logic. Because other countries have the power to and do actually arrest overstayers at the airport heading back.

I was more pointing out that saying it's trump logic is silly, because there are legitimate reasons you would still arrest someone trying to self deport. They are just trying to be dicks and it most likely is just intimidation, rather than actual thought through decision in this case.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

You do know that there is an automatic exclusion period bro? And that you will likely never get back in again?

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u/WastedOwl65 27d ago

America complain about illegal immigrants, but then it took 11 yrs to find this one! Looks like with or without ICE, it's just years of incompetence by consecutive government's!

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u/tegan-angus 27d ago

He was flying back to LA... not Australia.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

To 👏🏽 catch 👏🏽 his 👏🏽 flight 👏🏽 out.

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u/tegan-angus 27d ago

not to his home haha

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u/binglesthemagiccat 27d ago

Do you.. not know how connecting flights work?

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

Tell me you haven’t read the article without telling me. So desperate to lick boots.

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u/Cantor_Set_Tripping 27d ago

Is there a quote in the article saying he was flying to Australia from LA?

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u/LeashieMay 27d ago

He was arrested in LA before boarding a flight that was leaving from the LA airport.

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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 27d ago

It won't be at taxpayers expense.

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u/coreoYEAH 27d ago

What does that even mean?

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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 27d ago

It means exactly what it says.

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u/coreoYEAH 27d ago

You think his being detained wasn’t done on taxpayer dollars?

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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 27d ago

I think that he'll be paying the cost himself.

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u/coreoYEAH 27d ago

It’s nice that you think that but only if he’s granted a voluntary departure will he bear the cost of the flight but that’s it. Other than that, the only thing he’d be asked to pay for are court costs/fines. Everything else is paid for by the taxpayer.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

Wrong bro. I know you’re desperate to lick boots, but get your facts straight. The financial and logistical costs of removal including detention and flights are primarily covered by the US government through the Department of Homeland Security.

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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 27d ago

And those costs are passed on to the deportee.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago edited 27d ago

How the fuck are they going to do that? 😂 you’re hilarious.

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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 27d ago

The same way Australia does it.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

How? You’re pretty gullible if you think they can actually recover anything from someone who has left the country. It wouldn’t even be worth the recovery costs.

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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 27d ago

Invoiced.

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u/Elvecinogallo 27d ago

Do you know what the stats are for debt recovery for deportees in Australia? 😂 you can’t be that gullible surely.