While waiting for green card, metro Vietnamese man is detained by ICE

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - An Oklahoma City metro Vietnamese family is scrambling after their loved one was detained in an immigration court hearing on Thursday.

"We just worry that if he gets sent to Vietnam, we don't know how he's going to survive over there," said Hung Dao.

Dao's stepfather, Ho Neguyen, has lived in Oklahoma since he was a teenager, coming over when he was 13 years old.

"He does everything for me. He takes care of the bills, the house, everything for me. He's a very good guy," pleaded Ho's wife, Madeliena Nguyen.

The family said Ho was on a work visa and was attending a court check-in in the metro, a routine annual event for him since his detention. They said he is set to be sent to Vietnam.

Ho hasn't been to Vietnam since he left as a child. Hung said he has nobody there he knows.

From what they've been told so far, Ho was detained due to an arrest that he had back in the 90s. Hung said it pertained to illegal gambling charges. But, he said, Ho did his time and had his green card revoked. He's been trying to get it back ever since.

"That was years ago. He's been such a good man since, working hard every day," said Madeliena.

They showed a piece of paper that was dated July 11, 2025, and it was from Ho's employer. His boss wrote that up in the time since the detainment.

It reads: "Mr. Ho Nguyen has been employed with us since January 2021. He has been a reliable employee with excellent attributes. I have never had any issues with Mr. Nguyen; he always provides help around the plant. His attitude is great, and he comes early to work. He has been successful here with us, learning various roles including packing on different lines, product acknowledgement, housekeeping, and works great in a team atmosphere."

"That's paperwork from his employer and everyone in there. It says he's a good worker," said Hung.

The family said he has been on a work visa and has been working, sometimes, 12-hour days.

Dao said that Ho came to America through the Amerasian Homecoming Act. That specifically allowed Amerasians (those born to at least one American parent) born between 1962 and 1976, along with their immediate relatives, to apply for U.S. residency. The act was a response to the social and economic hardships faced by Amerasians in post-war Vietnam.

They said that Ho's father wasn't around for him, but they believe that his dad is American due to this. His mother died in 2023.

The family also said they put in for some sort of DNA test to find his father again, in the hopes that it could help him obtain citizenship.

"We have tried so many times to get a green card again, but it's expensive and our finances don't allow that right now," said Dao.

The family said the minimum it had cost was around $15,000, including legal fees.

"She said she doesn't want to lose him, and she misses him so much. She just wants him to come back," said Dao.

Since the detainment, they have tried to find out where he is. That's been the main complaint from many families during this time: finding out where their loved ones are and where they are going.

"He has no family in Vietnam. We are his only family," said Madeliena. She said that she, Dao, and her daughter Leslie relied on Ho.

They said they not only lost a husband but a provider as well.

Dao said that Ho is in Tulsa now at the Tulsa County Jail.

News 4 reached out to an ICE spokesperson for the media to ask what he was detained for exactly and where he might be headed.