A recent incident involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made the news because of a strange encounter captured on social media. The video, shot by Chris Motley, captured the situation at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. On Instagram, he noted that he was traveling through Terminal 3 on Monday, July 13, and just happened to hear a cry for help. At some point, he hit record.
What he found was an older Asian man, screaming in distress, pinned to the floor by two individuals in plain clothes. The man was wearing a grey hoodie, and he was captured straddling the victim while yanking his right arm back. A woman in a white hoodie and a face mask was kneeling in front of them. As Motley approached, she put a handcuff on the victim’s left wrist.
In the video, Motely repeatedly asked, “What’s going on?” At one point, the man swiped at Motley, seemingly trying to grab his camera. A TSA officer stepped in between Motley and the pair, telling him, “That’s law enforcement.” Then the man in the hoodie signaled to the woman, and they both abruptly walked away. As Motley and a few others pursued them with questions, Motley noted in disbelief, ”Yo Dude! Ey dude, that’s not 5-0, that’s not police!”
The details came to light later
According to NBC News, the two individuals were indeed ICE agents. They also reported that the Department of Homeland Security later identified the victim as 57-year-old Phu Nguyen. In the video, he could be heard yelling in distress, saying, “I don’t know what they are doing.”
In the second clip of the post, Motley approached the TSA agent when the ICE officers left. He pressed the agent for more information, asking, “Why aren’t they identifying themselves or showing their faces?” The TSA agent didn’t provide answers.
The public reaction to the footage has been interesting. Considering the officer’s clothing and behavior, many didn’t seem to believe they were law enforcement. In fact, last year, Fake ICE agents were arrested in multiple states. One user commented, “TSA agent looks like he was in on it. They are pretending to be ICE to rob foreigners probably.” Another user noted, “Wild they just left him half handcuffed and dipped that’s so f—ing sketchy they covered up and ran.”
Someone else added, “No uniform, no badge, no clear identification. As far as anyone is concerned, those are just two people assaulting an older gentleman. Nevada is also a Stand Your Ground State; you are under no duty to retreat and can use the force necessary to stop the Threat. If some Good Samaritans had done a 60-yard field goal kick in the general direction of their jaw and made cracking contact, no one would have been able to blame them. After all, to any reasonable person it looks like an assault or mugging.”
Per NBC, Las Vegas police confirmed that they conducted a records check and found no outstanding warrants for Nguyen. In a statement, they said, “They removed the handcuff from his wrist and notified ICE.” The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Nguyen, a citizen of Australia, had overstayed his visa.
A spokesperson for the agency claimed the agents left without making the arrest “to de-escalate the situation and for officer safety.” Per the report, Nguyen was eventually arrested on July 14 while boarding a flight departing from Los Angeles International Airport. He is currently being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California. Interestingly, they arrested him on a flight out. Many ICE arrests happened at check-in appointments, like that of the wife of a military veteran.
Sen. Jacky Rosen slammed the arrest on X, stating, “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.”
Athar Haseebullah, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, also weighed in, “The footage shows ICE officers throwing hoodies on over their heads while covering their faces, accosting a harmless and confused man, trying to block community members from capturing the incident on video, and then running away from the scene. These are the actions of an agency that is lawless, dangerous, and disgraceful, and we cannot allow this kind of behavior in our state.”
In the Instagram comments, Motley stated that the victim was left with a dangling handcuff on his wrist for over an hour before it was removed. Motley noted that he gave a statement to the police and showed them the video. However, they purportedly “didn’t write anything down or ask for the video.” The Department of Homeland Security asserts that Nguyen will receive full due process.
Published: Jul 18, 2026 07:29 am