This article is not satire
According to the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City’s solicitation PR15454706 and related documents obtained by The Beat, the consulate is seeking meeting packages and accommodations in Quy Nhon for an ICE training workshop scheduled for September 14–20, 2025. The procurement packet’s specifications and room counts read less like a focused law-enforcement training and more like a government-funded retreat.
The combination of 45 meeting attendees and 30 paid rooms — along with a multiday seaside venue in Quy Nhon, daily buffets and tea breaks, backdrop branding, and storage for “training materials” — raises immediate questions about who will occupy the paid rooms. The solicitation’s math suggests accommodation for roughly 35 ICE agents plus 15 accompanying family members or friends, a configuration that describes a thinly veiled vacation package financed by taxpayers.
Housing and hospitality requirements that extend beyond core training needs, plus paid accommodations, risk appearing indulgent at best and an improper use of public funds at worst.
The solicitation comes against a backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement affecting Vietnamese nationals during and after the Trump administration. Over 8,000 Vietnamese face potential deportation. For families and communities affected by deportation, the image of ICE personnel attending a well-serviced seaside workshop in Vietnam — potentially accompanied by non-official guests — can feel deeply insensitive, if not outright offensive.
Taxpayer-funded training overseas that involves immigration enforcement carries particular sensitivity when it intersects with communities directly affected by deportation policies. Transparency about participants, costs, and the mission focus of such trips is essential to maintain public trust and to ensure government resources are used for legitimate operational needs rather than extended hospitality. A FOIA request has been filed with the State Department seeking further details about participant lists, room allocations, and the workshop budget.