Two plainclothes agents appeared to handcuff a man Monday night in Terminal 3 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
Video posted on social media showed the man on the ground with one hand behind his back as the two agents surrounded him; as the person filming asked what was going on, the male agent pulled down his hoodie and the man on the ground screamed, "I don't know what they're doing."
Las Vegas police confirmed the two people in the video trying to handcuff the man were ICE agents and said officers conducted a records check and "found no outstanding warrants on the individual."
Police said, "They removed the handcuff from his wrist and notified ICE."
The Department of Homeland Security identified the man as Phu Nguyen and said he is a citizen of Australia who overstayed his visa; a DHS spokesperson said the two agents left without arresting Nguyen "to de-escalate the situation and for officer safety" after a crowd formed.
Nguyen, 57, was later arrested Tuesday before his flight left Los Angeles International Airport, the DHS statement said, and online records show he is being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California; it is not clear if Nguyen has obtained an attorney.
DHS said Nguyen entered the United States legally on a visa in May 2013, "with permission to remain in the United States until May 26, 2015," and added, "Nguyen refused to depart in violation of our nation's laws. He will receive full due process and remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings."
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., wrote on X that she was "demanding answers about what happened" and criticized the agents' actions: "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, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said in a statement that ICE acted recklessly, calling the officers' behavior "the actions of an agency that is lawless, dangerous, and disgraceful, and we cannot allow this kind of behavior in our state."