Houston, TX — A Vietnamese national convicted of attempting to kill a police officer and later ordered deported has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after spending more than 15 years living in the Houston area despite a final removal order.
Dinh Quy Nguyen, 56, was taken into custody by ICE on May 5 and remains detained at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, pending deportation to Vietnam, according to federal officials.
Nguyen’s arrest marks a significant development in a decades-long immigration case that ICE says was previously blocked by diplomatic restrictions that prevented the removal of certain Vietnamese nationals.
Convicted of Attempted Capital Murder of a Police Officer
According to ICE, Nguyen was admitted to the United States in December 1977 through Honolulu, Hawaii.
Federal officials said he was convicted of attempted capital murder of a police officer on Oct. 26, 1988, and later convicted of burglary on June 28, 1989.
An immigration judge ordered Nguyen deported on Dec. 30, 1997. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that decision in May 1998, leaving him with a final order of removal.
Despite the deportation order, Nguyen remained in the United States for decades.
Immigration Restrictions Prevented Removal
ICE officials said Nguyen’s continued presence in the country stemmed from longstanding restrictions involving Vietnamese nationals who arrived in the United States before July 12, 1995.
Under agreements in place at the time, Vietnam generally did not accept the return of certain individuals who entered the United States before that date, regardless of their criminal records or immigration status.
Because Nguyen arrived in 1977, federal officials said he fell into that category.
When the Texas Department of Criminal Justice transferred Nguyen to ICE custody in March 2011, immigration authorities were unable to remove him from the country.
Under federal law, ICE cannot indefinitely detain individuals when there is no significant likelihood of deportation in the reasonably foreseeable future.
As a result, Nguyen was released from custody in June 2011.
Key Points
• ICE arrested a Vietnamese national convicted of attempted capital murder of a police officer.
• Dinh Quy Nguyen remained in the U.S. for more than 15 years after his release from ICE custody.
• Federal officials say policy changes now allow his deportation to Vietnam.
ICE Says Policy Changes Opened Path to Deportation
ICE officials credited changes in U.S.-Vietnam repatriation policies for making Nguyen’s removal possible.
Acting Houston Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez said earlier agreements prevented immigration officials from deporting Nguyen despite his criminal convictions and final removal order.
“When this violent criminal alien was released from prison in 2011, he was transferred into ICE custody, but at the time there was an agreement in place with Vietnam that prevented us from repatriating him and third country removals weren’t an option,” Martinez said.
Martinez added that immigration authorities were forced to release Nguyen back into the community because deportation was not legally feasible at the time.
“Thanks to the commonsense policies established by this administration, we’re no longer prioritizing vicious criminal alien cop-killers over our brave men and women in uniform, and dangerous aliens like Nguyen can be quickly deported,” Martinez said.
Awaiting Removal to Vietnam
Nguyen remains in federal custody while immigration officials complete the deportation process.
ICE said he is being held at the Montgomery Processing Center and is awaiting removal to Vietnam.
The agency has not announced a timeline for the deportation but indicated that Nguyen’s case is moving forward under current repatriation procedures.
Federal officials said the arrest closes a chapter in a case that has spanned nearly three decades since Nguyen first received a final order of removal.