U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is being taken to court over its efforts to deport an Iowa man back to his home country of Vietnam.
Hein Thai is suing ICE, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Polk County Jail in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Thai — whose first name is spelled “Hien” in several court records — is seeking his immediate release from the jail, where he has been held since Jan. 15, 2026. He is alleging his due process rights are being violated.
Court records show that Thai came to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1992 and was eventually awarded lawful permanent resident status.
In 1997, he was convicted of terrorism and second-degree murder. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the charge arose from a shooting between two groups of men at Café Di Vang in Des Moines on Aug. 6, 1995, during which witnesses reported that Thai armed himself with a .38 revolver. The same gun was later used by another man in a fatal shooting, according to the DOJ.
In March 2013, Thai completed his prison sentence and was turned over to ICE, which transferred him to Alabama to await deportation due to his felony convictions. Unable to deport him back to Vietnam, where such transfers are tightly restricted, ICE released him after 90 days subject to an “order of supervision” that required him to complete periodic check-ins with the federal agency.
The DOJ now alleges that in December 2025, Thai missed one of his check-in appointments, leading to his arrest on Jan. 15, 2026.
"ICE’s decision 13 years ago that he was safe enough to release but now must be detained due to his ‘criminal history’ makes no sense."Attorney Alexander Smith
Thai’s attorney, Alexander Smith, is now arguing for his client’s release from jail, asserting Thai’s “long history of law-abiding behavior since being released on an order of suspension demonstrates complete rehabilitation and no risk of recidivism.” Thai, Smith told the court, “does not pose a danger to anyone.”
Smith also claims Thai’s rights are being violated due to the fact that deportations to Vietnam remain tightly restricted. Thai’s relocation there is not reasonably foreseeable, Smith alleges. He also claims that in January 2026, the federal government failed to provide Thai with the required written notice stating why he was being detained and why his 2013 release on an order of supervision was being revoked.
In new court filings, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa David C. Waterman argues that the federal officials are now “in active discussions with the Vietnamese embassy to effect Thai’s removal to Vietnam.” Waterman also alleges Thai was given the proper notice in January as to why his order of supervision was being revoked.
In his response, Smith calls the latter claim “frankly, unbelievable,” characterizing the purported notice as a “notification letter that does not exist” and seemingly cannot be produced by the government.
In court filings arguing for his client’s release, Smith writes that Thai “acknowledges that he has been convicted of a serious crime. However, he has also served his sentence for that crime, been paroled for that crime, and spent the last 13 years not committing any other crimes. ICE’s decision 13 years ago that he was safe enough to release but now must be detained due to his ‘criminal history’ makes no sense.”
The court has yet to rule on the request for Thai’s immediate release.
