{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://walters.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-mimi-walters-continues-fight-free-orange-county-resident-michael", "Rep. Mimi Walters Continues Fight to Free Orange County Resident Michael Nguyen from Unjust Imprisonment in Vietnam", "2018-10-29", "2018", "2018-10", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Mimi Walters", "W000820", "walters.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "October 29, 2018 \n (202) 225-5611 \n Rep. Mimi Walters Continues Fight to Free Orange County Resident Michael Nguyen from Unjust Imprisonment in Vietnam \nWashington, DC  Today, Rep. Mimi Walters (R-California) released the following statement regarding her ongoing efforts to secure Orange County resident Michael Nguyen's safe and immediate release from unjust imprisonment by the Vietnamese government.\nSaid Rep. Mimi Walters, As we near the three-month mark since Michael Nguyen has been wrongfully imprisoned, the Vietnamese government continues to stonewall Congress and the Nguyen family. Despite several meetings with the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington, D.C. in which I demanded his immediate release, Michael remains imprisoned on baseless charges. The Vietnamese government continues to deny Michael access to family and friends.\nI remain in frequent contact with the State Department, the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Dan Kritenbrink, and the Nguyen family as we continue to fight for Michael's release. I continue to work with my colleagues to build a bipartisan congressional delegation to increase pressure on the Vietnamese government. I sincerely thank those with the U.S. Mission to Vietnam who continues to visit Michael during this difficult time to assess his health and deliver letters between him and his family.\nI will continue the fight and stop at nothing to bring Michael home and reunite him with his family.\nBackground\nOn July 7, 2018, American citizen and Orange County resident Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen, a 54 year old father of four, was unjustly imprisoned by the Vietnamese government. While the U.S. Department of State has confirmed he is being imprisoned at a detention facility in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnamese government has yet to release any evidence substantiating Mr. Nguyen's arrest despite repeated requests by Rep. Walters. To date, no formal charges have been filed against Mr. Nguyen. He is not allowed access to a lawyer or his family and U.S. embassy staff may only visit him once a month. Rep. Walters continues to remain in constant contact with his family, the U.S. Department of State, and all involved parties. More information on her specific actions can be found below.\nRep. Walters' Efforts to Bring Michael Nguyen Home\nWalters represents California's 45th District and serves on the House Energy & Commerce and House Ethics Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://walters.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-mimi-walters-continues-fight-free-orange-county-resident-michael"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8866721764206886, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}