My stepdad, Tim, was in ICE custody in January 2026 up until May when he was able to leave safely with on a habeas corpus order. It took an incredible amount of work and endurance to get him to return to us. However, despite the short summer we had to enjoy his company, he was always at-risk to getting deported. Now with an order from Vietnam, Tim is being deported back to his native country after a scheduled ICE visit on August 16th, 2026. He will be held in a Minnesota county jail for up to 90 days until he gets deported.

Tim has been living in the U.S. since 1987 and built a life with his family here. He is a kind, driven, and caring father that lived lawfully and graciously cared for his love ones, including both his biological and stepfamily, before he got taken away.

To support himself and his family, my stepdad works as a DoorDash and Uber driver, often 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. He pays his taxes. He doesn’t ask for help. He believes deeply in working hard and taking responsibility — everything we are taught an “American life” is built on. In our eyes, he was a true American, even without the label on paper.

With his aid, my family is able to afford the necessities of life while easing the stresses that comes with a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. We both thank him and love him for his perseverance to ensure we as a family stayed afloat and most importantly, happy. He was a pillar in our foundation. Even as he faces deportation, he can’t help but uplift his family.

With deportation eminent, we fear that he will find great difficulty in adjusting in a land he has not been in for over 4 decades. Although he has some family in Vietnam to support his transition, he will have to completely reconstruct his life and find his own survival. It will be a difficult road to sustain himself, and devastatingly, he may never be able to reach that peace he did here in the United States. His removal will be life-altering, so we are asking for any aid as he prepares to be deported.

This fund will be used to aid his future life in Vietnam. This includes food, housing, clothing, phone bills, and more. He will be essentially starting his life anew with nothing. These donations will ensure his move will be supported as he rebuilds his life and leaves the one he built here in the United States.

This GoFundMe is a direct ask from Tim and he hopes that his community can help his journey to Vietnam. Legal aid is sadly a closed path for him now. Any support, whether that is a donation or simply sharing his story, will be greatly appreciated. Our family appreciates your love and care, and thank you for taking time to read through Tim’s experiences.

You can also read his daughter, Ailynn’s, side of Tim’s life in the old fundraiser here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-ailynns-father-detained-by-ice?cp_src=m

Thank You So Much,

Thanh Nguyen