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United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested a Vietnamese citizen who was convicted of trying to kill a police officer who lived free for more than 15 years in his country because his country refused to send him back.
The case underscores a broader shift in US deportation policy targeting previously protected aliens with criminal convictions.
Dinh Quy Nguyen, convicted of attempted murder and burglary on June 28, 1989, was imprisoned in Houston, Texas, on May 5, 2026. Despite being ordered to be deported in 1997, Nguyen was released in 2011 after Vietnam refused to extradite him.
For more than a decade, Nguyen was considered “untouchable” by immigration officials. Under the previous agreement, the US could not deport Vietnamese citizens who arrived in the country before July 12, 1995. Because Nguyen arrived on December 15, 1977, he was effectively protected from deportation despite his violent criminal record.
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Dinh Quy Nguyen (pictured) was convicted of attempted murder of a police officer and burglary on June 28, 1989. (Department of Homeland Security)
“As we observe Police Sunday, the men and women of ICE law enforcement are removing this illegal alien convicted of attempting to kill a police officer from our communities, so he can no longer harm the American people,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
“This illegal Vietnamese criminal also has a previous conviction for burglary. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, we will always stand up for our brave ICE law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to arrest the worst criminals on American soil.”
The arrest marks a major shift in law enforcement under President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, according to DHS officials, who say the latest policy changes are aimed at removing barriers that have long allowed certain convicted felons to remain in the United States.
Nguyen’s history in the US spans nearly five decades. It was first imported to the US in 1977 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was granted a final order of removal by an immigration judge on December 30, 1997, which was affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals on May 26, 1998.
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On March 17, 2011, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice transferred Nguyen to ICE custody. (John Moore/Getty Images)
On March 17, 2011, the Texas Department of Justice transferred Nguyen to ICE custody, but he was released on June 22, 2011, because Vietnam refused to be repatriated.
ICE agents participate in enforcement operations. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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The Department of Homeland Security said the renewed enforcement effort is part of a broader effort to ensure that “bad criminals” can no longer prey on Americans thanks to communications technology.
Nguyen is currently being held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, pending his removal from Vietnam.
