Two plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents left a partially handcuffed man on the ground Monday after they tried to arrest him at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and were confronted by onlookers, police and federal officials said.
Video of the incident obtained by CNN shows a man wearing a blue polo shirt screaming as agents hold him on the ground. His shoe fell and his luggage was thrown aside.
The agents – a woman carrying a white bag over her shoulder, wearing a hoodie and a mask, and a man wearing khaki pants, a hoodie and a backpack – appear to handcuff him, as seen in the video.
During the meeting, spectators paused and can be heard in the video questioning ICE agents. As more travelers stopped, a uniformed TSA officer stood in front of the agents and the man, creating a makeshift perimeter, the video shows.
“Get back, this is law enforcement,” a TSA officer can be heard saying. “Everything back.”
Shortly after, the ICE agents left, leaving the man behind and not saying anything to the TSA officer who was trying to control the crowd or spectators. Some of the travelers followed the agents briefly, asking who they were. In a separate video, others could be heard yelling at the TSA agent, asking if anything would be done about the incident.
CNN has reached out to the TSA for comment.
It is unclear what happened immediately before or after the video was taken.
Las Vegas police said ICE agents tried to detain the man but evaded arrest. Officers removed the handcuffs from the man’s wrist and notified ICE after a records check did not reveal any outstanding warrants against him, the agency said in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents stopped the arrest to “de-escalate the situation and ensure the safety of the officers” after a “mob of anti-ICE protesters surrounded the officers.”
The man, Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old Australian citizen born in Vietnam, was taken into custody the next day at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The agency said Nguyen had a visa good for two years, but it expired in 2015.
“Nguyen refused to leave in violation of our nation’s laws. He will receive due process and will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings,” DHS said in a statement.
According to the agency, he is being held at the Adelanto ICE processing center. CNN is working to determine whether he has legal representation.
A passenger waiting to board a flight at the Las Vegas airport saw the incident unfold and later spoke with Nguyen as the two were traveling to Los Angeles.
“I thought he was going to leave on a stretcher because it looked like he had some pretty serious injuries, but he didn’t leave on a stretcher,” Julian Vasquez Heilig told CNN.
The pair exchanged words in the exit row where Vasquez Heilig sat as Nguyen headed to his seat.
“He said he thought he would be okay, but I was worried that when he got off the plane he would be picked up by ICE,” Vasquez Heilig said.
Police confronted a partially handcuffed man at the Las Vegas airport after ICE attempted to arrest him.
Police confronted a partially handcuffed man at the Las Vegas airport after ICE attempted to arrest him.
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Recalling the incident, Vasquez Heilig said a group of black women were among the first to intervene and help Nguyen by asking plainclothes ICE agents to identify themselves.
“If you’re a human being and you see something like this happening and you’re a courageous human being, you run towards danger,” he said, adding that’s exactly what happened at the terminal on Monday.
The incident comes amid heightened criticism of immigration enforcement operations as several deadly encounters with agents this year have raised questions about who is being targeted. President Donald Trump said a nationwide federal immigration enforcement effort is aimed at removing dangerous criminals from the country.
When asked about the attempted arrest of Nguyen, the Clark County Aviation Department, which operates the Las Vegas airport, said it recognizes “that incidents such as these may raise questions and concerns among the traveling public.”
“We are working closely with our federal law enforcement partners to ensure safe and secure airport operations,” the department said in a statement.
Senator Jacky Rosen, a Democrat who represents Nevada, criticized the actions of ICE agents against X and demanded answers about the incident.
“Regular clothing. No uniform. No body cameras. No identification,” Rosen wrote. “ICE continues to operate with impunity, spreading fear in our communities and intimidating tourists, harming our tourism economy.”