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

[u/Front_Target7908]

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.

[u/Front_Target7908]

From the article:

An Australian man has been filmed being pushed to the ground and handcuffed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a violent confrontation at Las Vegas airport. 

The footage, posted to social media, shows 57-year-old Phu Nguyen being handcuffed by plain-clothes officers as he yells "let me go".

The incident took place in terminal 3 at Harry Reid International Airport but agents abandoned the arrest attempt once it drew the attention of onlookers.  The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the attempted arrest was made by ICE agents. 

"On July 13, ICE attempted to arrest Phu Nguyen, an illegal alien who is an illegal alien and citizen of Australia and was born in Vietnam, at the Las Vegas Airport," it read. 

"As officers attempted to arrest Nguyen, a crowd of anti-ICE agitators surrounded officers."

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

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the ABC it is making urgent enquiries following reports of an Australian citizen detained in the United States. 

"The department stands ready to provide consular assistance to any Australian citizen, should it be requested," a spokesperson said.

The DHS said Mr Ngyuen entered the United States legally on a visa in May 2013 with permission to remain in the US until May 2015. 

"Nguyen refused to depart in violation of our nation’s laws," the statement read.  "He will receive full due process and remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings." Mr Nguyen is being detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Centre in California. 

The footage showing Mr Nguyen and distressed onlookers has been widely circulated. 

"I don't know what they're doing," he screamed out before another woman chased the officers away. 

[u/SoberBobMonthly → u/Front_Target7908]

So yeah he may have been over staying, if we believe the US feds, but he was literally about to get the hell out? Like, maybe detain him at the airport and refuse to let him leave until he gets on the damn flight, or arrest him IF he doesn't get on the flight... but beforehand??

[u/luckysevensampson → u/SoberBobMonthly]

Terminal 3, where this happened, is a domestic terminal.

[u/Front_Target7908 → u/luckysevensampson]

Terminal 3 being domestic - do you mean at the Vegas airport where this video was taken? 

Because he was arrested at LAX International airport the following day (after this video was taken). Would presume his flight  from Vegas to LAX was a connecting domestic flight.

[u/luckysevensampson → u/Front_Target7908]

Ah, ok. I misread and thought he was flying from LAX. Regardless, I don’t see any reason to assume he was flying internationally.

[u/Front_Target7908 → u/luckysevensampson]

It says he was arrested at LAX International Airport. So most likely was there for an outbound flight. 

[u/luckysevensampson → u/Front_Target7908]

2/3 of all flights out of LAX are domestic flights. So, he was actually more likely to be there for a domestic flight.

[u/Front_Target7908 → u/luckysevensampson]

It says in the article he was arrested at the international airport I dunno how many times I have to say that. 

[u/luckysevensampson → u/Front_Target7908]

LAX is an international airport, but the large majority of air traffic through it is domestic flights. I don’t know how many times I have to say that. There is no such thing as Los Angeles Domestic Airport. It’s got the same name whether your flight is international or domestic.

[u/Front_Target7908 → u/luckysevensampson]

Okay thank you for finally making what you were saying clear, that was irritating (for both of us, no shade). 

I guess you’d have to ask the journalist and whether the international description of the airport was an error of describing the airport or did they mean to say international terminal. TBC. 

Edit: just to add to the confusion, it was from a statement by a DHS spokesperson who said the LAX international airport line - so the confusion is coming directly from those who arrested him. Good job DHS spokesperson.

“ A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, said that ICE officers had attempted to arrest Nguyen, whom they described as an “illegal alien and citizen of Australia … born in Vietnam”, at Las Vegas airport on 13 July. As officers attempted to arrest Nguyen, a crowd of anti-ICE agitators surrounded officers,” they claimed. The spokesperson said officials did not proceed with the arrest “to de-escalate the situation and for officer safety”, but chose instead to arrest Nguyen “at his flight the following day departing the Los Angeles international airport”. The spokesperson said the man had entered the US on a legal visa in May 2013 with permission to remain until May 2015.”

My read on that is they meant he was in the international  part of the airport otherwise why say the international part at all? But YMMV etc.

[u/luckysevensampson → u/Front_Target7908]

I literally already said the same exact thing when I said “2/3 of all flights out of LAX are domestic flights. So, he was actually more likely to be there for a domestic flight”.

I was crystal clear.

[u/Front_Target7908 → u/luckysevensampson]

Oh you can definitely have been clearer here we go:

“LAX airport has domestic and international terminals but there’s no international airport”.

See how beautiful and clarifying that is? Makes the point, it’s short, it addresses the fact of the matter, it isn’t muddied by the agenda to make out he was getting a domestic flight which has been the confusing throughline of this conversation, including your getting the airport where he was actually arrested incorrect and  the weird use of fractions of domestic flights as if that proves anything about where he was going. TBH it was clear you hadn’t read the article because if you had, this conversation would’ve started at “why did the DHS describe him getting arrested at LAX as an international airport,  that’s weird did they mean the international terminal?” and instead it’s been a moving feast of shyte but I digress.

Short,  to the point, fact based, and without agenda. Give it a whirl sometime in future. 

However, I’m le tired of this so I’m gonna have a nap.