ICE arrests criminal illegal alien in Texas convicted of attempted capital murder of police officer, burglary

HOUSTON - ICE arrested Dinh Quy Nguyen, a 56-year-old criminal illegal alien from Vietnam, May 5 in Houston. Nguyen has remained free in the local community for over 15 years despite having a final order of removal and prior convictions for attempted capital murder of a police officer and burglary.

Previously, ICE was unable to repatriate Vietnamese citizens, regardless of their immigration status or criminal history, if they arrived in the U.S. prior to July 12, 1995. As a result, Nguyen, who arrived in 1977, and other dangerous criminal aliens from Vietnam who arrived prior to that date, were essentially untouchable by immigration officials. During President Donald J. Trump's first term in office, he began to chisel away at those limitations, paving the way for Nguyen and other violent criminal aliens from Vietnam to be deported.

"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," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez. "As a result, we were forced to release him back into the community, where he remained for over 15 years, endangering everyone he encountered. 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."

Nguyen was admitted into the U.S. on Dec. 15, 1977, in Honolulu, Hawaii. On Oct. 26, 1988, he was convicted of attempted capital murder of a police officer and on June 28, 1989, he was convicted of burglary. An immigration judge ordered him deported on Dec. 30, 1997. That decision was affirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals on May 26, 1998.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice transferred Nguyen into ICE custody March 17, 2011. On June 22, 2011, ICE was forced to release Nguyen under U.S. law that prevents the agency from holding aliens if there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. He was arrested May 5 and remains at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, pending his removal to Vietnam.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

ICE's Houston field office is responsible for conducting immigration enforcement in 56 counties in Southeast Texas, stretching down the Texas Gulf Coast from Beaumont to Corpus Christi and from Houston/Galveston out to Waco, Texas. To learn more about ICE's immigration enforcement mission in Southeast Texas, follow us on X at @EROHouston.