Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. So, it seems like there was quite the scene at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Monday. Two plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to arrest a man, but things didn’t exactly go as planned. The agents ended up leaving the man partially handcuffed on the ground, and a crowd of onlookers got involved, questioning the agents and trying to figure out what was going on.
The video of the incident, obtained by CNN, shows the man in a light blue polo shirt being held to the ground by the agents. His shoe had fallen off, and his luggage was pushed to the side. The agents, a woman and a man, appear to handcuff him, but then they just walk away, leaving the man and saying nothing to the TSA officer who was trying to control the crowd.
It’s unclear what happened immediately before or after the video was filmed, but Las Vegas police said the ICE agents attempted to detain the man but walked away from the arrest. The police officers removed the handcuffs from the man’s wrist and notified ICE after a records check found no outstanding warrants on him. The man, Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old citizen of Australia who was born in Vietnam, was taken into custody the following day at Los Angeles International Airport.
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents stopped the arrest to “de-escalate the situation and for officer safety” after a “crowd of anti-ICE agitators surrounded officers.” Nguyen had a visa effective for two years, but it expired in 2015. He is being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, according to agency records.
A passenger who witnessed the incident, Julian Vasquez Heilig, spoke to Nguyen as they both traveled to Los Angeles. Vasquez Heilig said he thought Nguyen was going to leave on a stretcher because he had pretty significant injuries. The incident has raised questions about immigration enforcement operations, and Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat representing Nevada, criticized the ICE agents’ actions and demanded answers.
The incident has also sparked concerns about the use of plainclothes agents and the lack of body cameras. Rosen wrote on social media, “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.”
In conclusion, this whole situation is a bit of a mess, and it’s not exactly clear what happened or why the ICE agents acted the way they did. But one thing’s for sure – it’s a good thing those bystanders were there to help out, and let’s hope Nguyen gets the help he needs. And who knows, maybe next time the ICE agents will think twice before trying to make an arrest in a busy airport terminal – after all, it’s not exactly the most convenient place to try to apprehend someone, bless their hearts.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
