Plainclothes ICE agents left man partially handcuffed at Las Vegas airport after being confronted by onlookers, video shows

By Emma Tucker, Alisha Ebrahimji, Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — Two plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents left a man partially handcuffed on the ground Monday after they attempted to arrest him at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and onlookers confronted them, according to police and federal officials.

A video of the incident obtained by CNN shows a man in a light blue polo shirt yelling as he’s being held to the ground by the agents. His shoe had fallen off, and his luggage was pushed over to the side.

The agents – a woman with a white crossbody bag, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a face mask, and a man in khaki pants, hooded sweatshirt and backpack – appear to handcuff him, video shows.

During the encounter, onlookers stopped and can be heard on video questioning the ICE agents. As more travelers stopped, a uniformed Transportation Security Administration officer stood in front of the agents and the man, creating a makeshift perimeter, video shows.

“Back up, it’s law enforcement,” a TSA officer can be heard saying. “Everyone back up.”

Shortly after, the ICE agents walked away, leaving the man and saying nothing to the TSA officer attempting to control the crowd or the onlookers. Some of the travelers briefly followed the agents, asking who they were. In a separate video, others were heard shouting at the TSA agent, questioning whether something would be done about the incident.

CNN has reached out to the TSA for comment.

It’s unclear what happened immediately before or after the video was filmed.

Las Vegas police said ICE agents attempted to detain the man but walked away from the arrest. Police officers removed the handcuffs from the man’s wrist and notified ICE after a records check found no outstanding warrants on him, the agency said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents stopped the arrest to “de-escalate the situation and for officer safety” after a “crowd of anti-ICE agitators surrounded officers.”

The man, Phu Nguyen, a 57-year-old citizen of Australia who was born in Vietnam, was taken into custody the following day at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The agency said Nguyen had a visa effective for two years but it expired in 2015.

“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,” DHS said in a statement.

He is being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, according to agency records. CNN is working to determine whether he has legal representation.

Concerned onlookers rush to help

A passenger who was waiting to board a flight at the Las Vegas airport saw the incident unfold and later spoke to Nguyen as they both traveled to Los Angeles.

“I thought that he was going to leave on the stretcher because it looked like he had pretty significant 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 was seated, as Nguyen headed to his seat.

“He said he thought he was going to be OK, but my worry was that when he got off the plane, that ICE would grab him up,” Vasquez Heilig said.

When he recalled the incident, Vasquez Heilig said a group of Black women were among the first to step in and help Nguyen, asking for the ICE agents in plain clothes to identify themselves.

“If you’re a human and you see something like that happen and you’re a person of courage, you run towards the danger,” he said, adding it’s what happened in the terminal Monday.

The incident unfolded amid heightened criticism of immigration enforcement operations as several fatal encounters with agents this year have raised questions about who is being targeted. President Donald Trump has said the nationwide federal immigration enforcement push aims to remove dangerous criminals from the country.

When asked about the attempted arrest of Nguyen, the Clark County Department of Aviation, which owns the Las Vegas airport, said it recognizes “that incidents such as this may raise questions and concerns among the traveling public.”

“We work closely with our federal law enforcement partners to support the safe and secure operation of the airport,” the department said in a statement.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat representing Nevada, criticized the ICE agents’ actions on X and demanded answers about the incident.

“Plain clothes. No uniforms. No body cameras. No identification,” Rosen wrote. “ICE is continuing to act with impunity — instilling fear in our communities and scaring tourists, which hurts our tourism economy.”

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CNN’s Graham Hurley contributed to this report.