Bystanders Intervene as Plainclothes ICE Agents Attempt Arrest at Las Vegas Airport

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers aborted an attempted arrest at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport on Monday after being surrounded by bystanders whom the Department of Homeland Security later labeled “anti-ICE agitators,” according to an X post from ICE Los Angeles.

ICE identified the man as Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian citizen born in Vietnam. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Nguyen had overstayed a visa he legally obtained in 2013. He was arrested by ICE the following day while attempting to board a flight at Los Angeles International Airport.

The incident at Harry Reid was recorded by Chris Motley, a filmmaker who was headed home after working on a documentary. His video shows Nguyen on the ground yelling while two people in civilian clothes attempt to restrain him.

Motley can repeatedly be heard asking, “What’s going on?” before the officers abort the arrest and leave the area.

In the footage, embedded below from Motley’s Instagram account, one of the individuals is seen wearing a black hoodie pulled over their head while positioned on top of Nguyen.

A second person, described as a blonde woman, wears a grey hoodie, black leggings, and a blue medical mask. Both wore sneakers.

A man wearing a Transportation Security Administration uniform then inserts himself between Motley and Nguyen, announcing: “Everyone, back up.”

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According to DHS, the officers disengaged “to de-escalate the situation and for officer safety.” Doing so left Nguyen with a pair of handcuffs still locked to his left wrist.

Las Vegas police said they arrived at Terminal 3 at 6:08 p.m. and removed Nguyen’s handcuffs, noting that they found no outstanding warrants for him.

DHS Statement

A DHS spokesperson stated that Nguyen legally entered the U.S. on May 27, 2013, on a visa that expired on May 26, 2015. The agency said Nguyen “refused to depart in violation of our nation’s laws.”

“Nguyen will receive full due process and remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings,” the agency said.

In a post on X, U.S. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) called the ICE agents’ conduct “completely unprofessional and unacceptable for any law enforcement officer,” adding that she has “demanded immediate answers.”

DHS did not respond to questions about whether ICE officers routinely conduct enforcement actions in civilian clothing or where Nguyen is currently being held.

Motley said he recorded the encounter to document what was happening and did not anticipate it would gain such widespread attention.