My stepfather, Tuan Van Bui, passed away in ICE custody on April 1st, 2026.
Tuan Van Bui entered the United States in 1990 with a visa for Amerasian children, which was established under the Amerasian Homecoming Act for children born to U.S. fathers.
My stepfather and my mother often spent their time having gatherings with their neighbors to show how much they cherished community and friendship. My step father supported my mother in many ways and without him, she now lives a life a nightmare cannot compete with.
Tuan was detained at a routine ICE check-in appointment on August 18th, 2025 in Philadelphia. ICE took all of his personal documents from his hands and discarded them in the trash. As per ICE, “all aliens in removal proceedings must check in with ICE at least once per year,” which my stepfather complied with and routinely attended.
After being detained, he spent several months at the GEO Moshannon Valley Processing Center in PA before being transferred to the Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana, where other deaths have recently occurred.
ICE stated that they responded with life-saving medical care immediately. The accounts we have heard from eye-witnesses of my stepfather’s death, on the other hand, tell a different story and have been horrifying. As a family, we are navigating ways to investigate further. There are inconsistencies between the reports provided by ICE regarding my stepfather’s life & death and the accounts of those who experienced it first hand.
My stepfather was ordered to be deported. As planes frequently leave the United States to fulfill removal orders, he was detained in several separate facilities in multiple states for nearly 7.5 months.
Tuan Van Bui was ordered to receive deportation, yet he received death.
Our focus at this time is to provide my stepfather with a secondary evaluation of his death, proper legal review, and to fulfill his burial wishes.
If there are any donated funds that remain, it will be used to support Tuan Van Bui’s wife, my mother, who suffered a stroke after witnessing his detention and needs assistance with health and life expenses. Regrettably, she will not be able to attend his funeral due to her health.
Donations from this fundraiser will be used towards:
- Financial assistance for additional forensic testing and secondary review of cause of death
- Cost of repatriating Tuan Van Bui’s body from Indiana back to Philadelphia and funeral storage fees accumulated since April
- Fulfilling funeral wishes and memorial expenses
- Support for Tuan Van Bui’s wife for health and life expenses
Thank you from our family for taking the time to read, share, and support as we continue to investigate and process Tuan Van Bui’s death in ICE detention.
Organizer
