Late Thursday, Greater Boston Legal Services filed a habeas-corpus motion in federal court on behalf of Dong Van Nguyen, a Dorchester resident supporters say was tossed into detention by ICE when he appeared at its Burlington office the day before for a regularly scheduled appointment as part of an "alternatives to detention" program.

Dong, 64, now faces deportation to Vietnam, a country he has not been to since he fled the Communists in a small boat in 1980.

The LUCE Immigrant Justice Network, which is mobilizing support for Nguyen, reports:

"On May 21, 2025, a Vietnamese community member, Dong Nguyen, was detained by ICE agents in Burlington. About a month prior, he was placed into ISAP (Intensive Supervision Appearance Program), ICE’s “Alternatives to Detention” program. Dong was put into an ankle monitor and a mobile app was placed onto his phone that required him to do more intensive routine check-ins. Although compliant with directives from ICE, he was taken into custody during a scheduled check-in without any notice.

"Dong is an anchor for the Vietnamese community in Dorchester. He has called Boston home for the past 45 years after resettling to the United States as a refugee of war. At 64 years old and with medical conditions, Dong is now facing deportation to Vietnam, a country he no longer remembers, has any family ties, nor connections. "

In 2011, Nguyen was sentenced to four years in federal prison for selling ecstasy-laced marijuana - which meant that, with credits for the time he was locked up after his 2008 arrest, he was released the following year.

In a sentencing memorandum based in part on a pre-sentencing interview by a Mass General forensic psychiatrist, his attorney recounted his life and events that led to his arrest:

Nguyen, a fisherman in Vung Tau, near what was then Saigon, fled the country with his wife in a small boat in 1980 and were luckily picked up by an American ship after three days on the open seas. In a journey that led through a Singapore refugee camp, they were eventually resettled in Dorchester, where Nguyen worked as a waiter at local hotels and saved enough to buy a lobster boat in 1987, with some help from a relative of his wife.

His lawyer continued:

"In or about 1988, Mr. Nguyen was arrested and charged with possessing and/or selling short lobsters [lobsters too small to be sold], a seemingly innocuous event that ultimately triggered a destructive cycle of tragedy. Mr. Nguyen was forced to sell his boat at a financial loss, which triggered severe anxiety and depression, in part because $5000 of the boat's purchase price ($20,000 to $25,000) had been borrowed by Mr. Nguyen from his wife's relative. Mr. Nguyen began to self-medicate with heroin and cocaine. The depression and anxiety worsened with the impending birth of a second child, and Mr. Nguyen feared he would be unable to provide a secure future for his children. Not surprisingly, a string of failed relationships and business endeavors followed in the wake of his drug abuse."

His wife and their two sons left. He met another woman and they planned to marry, but that relationship also failed, his attorney continued.

In 1993, court records show, he was arrested with two other men on a charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin. In the middle of their trial the following year, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison. He served his time, then, in 2008, was indicted again, this time on charges of selling ecstasy-laced marijuana with his girlfriend at the time and her daughter. By the time of the arrest that triggered that indictment, his lawyer continued:

"Mr. Nguyen was 'abusing large quantities of heroin and cocaine,' and would 'drink to pass out about once or twice a week.' At the time of his arrest, 'Mr. Nguyen was injecting 1 to 2 [grams] of heroin daily and injecting or snorting a few grams of cocaine daily.' Frankly, as Mr. Nguyen himself concedes, his arrest in this matter in all likelihood saved his life. ... Since being incarcerated, Mr. Nguyen has gained approximately 35 pounds, going from approximately 130 pounds upon his arrest to approximately 165 pounds at this point, the result of a serious dedication to exercise and a renewed ability to focus on nutrition (rather than drugs). He does, however, suffer from some serious health problems, including Hepatitis C."

Nguyen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by 36 months of probation - with the first six months of that to be spent in a halfway house. Court records indicate that at the time, ICE did not file a detainer to have him held for possible deportation.