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United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a Vietnamese national convicted of attempted murder of a police officer who remained free in the country for over 15 years because his home country refused to take him back.
The case underscores a broader shift in U.S. deportation policy targeting previously protected foreign nationals with criminal convictions.
Dinh Quy Nguyen, who was convicted of attempted capital murder of a police officer and burglary on June 28, 1989, was taken into custody in Houston, Texas, on May 5, 2026. Despite being ordered deported in 1997, Nguyen was released in 2011 after Vietnam refused to take him back.
For over a decade, Nguyen was considered “untouchable” by immigration officials. Under a previous agreement, the U.S. could not repatriate Vietnamese citizens who arrived in the country before July 12, 1995. Because Nguyen arrived on Dec. 15, 1977, he was effectively shielded from deportation despite a violent criminal record.
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Dinh Quy Nguyen (pictured) was convicted of attempted capital murder of a police officer and burglary on June 28, 1989. (Department of Homeland Security)
“As we observe Police Week, the men and women of ICE law enforcement are removing this illegal alien convicted of attempted murder of a police officer from our communities, so he cannot victimize anymore Americans,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement shared with Digital.
“This criminal illegal alien from Vietnam was also previously convicted for burglary. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, we will always stand by our brave ICE law enforcement who put their lives on the line to arrest heinous criminals from American neighborhoods.”
The arrest marks a significant shift in enforcement under President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, according to DHS officials, who say recent policy changes are aimed at removing longstanding barriers that allowed certain convicted criminals to remain in the United States.
Nguyen’s history in the U.S. spans nearly five decades. He was first admitted to the U.S. in 1977 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on Dec. 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 into ICE custody. (John Moore/Getty Images)
On March 17, 2011, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice transferred Nguyen into ICE custody, but he was released on June 22, 2011, because Vietnam refused repatriation.
ICE agents participate in an enforcement operation. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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The Department of Homeland Security said the renewed enforcement effort is part of a broader initiative to ensure “heinous criminals” are no longer able to victimize Americans due to diplomatic technicalities.
Nguyen is currently being held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, pending his removal to Vietnam.
