He graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1995 and from University of Richmond School of Law in 1999, becoming a prosecutor and earning awards from the Old Dominion Bar Association and Style Weekly.

They were aided by a family friend, an ambassador named John "Jerry" Edwards, who wrote a letter that said that Pham's father was his brother-in-law and a captain, although this was false.

[9][10] They settled at Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center, reuniting with their father three months later and moved to Henrico County, Virginia with the help of Commonwealth Catholic Charities.

In 2010, Pham was appointed to the Virginia Asian Advisory Board by Governor Tim Kaine, being reappointed by Bob McDonnell in 2014.

An addiction recovery program, introducer in early 2019, empowered inmates with substance abuse disorders so that they could re-enter society, with Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran calling it "an example that should be shared among other jails across the state.

They also sued Kuplinski, Vice Chairman J. Randall Wheeler and former corrections officer Henry Rhim, the latter had been convicted for sexually assaulting two inmates.

[36][37] With the accusations, Pham started an internal investigations unit to review and report findings to him, as well as instituting stronger segregation between men and women.

[42] On January 24, 2020, Pham became the Principal Legal Advisor for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Acting Director Matthew Albence.

[43][44] In August 2020, Pham was appointed by President Donald Trump to replace Albence after he resigned, becoming the first Asian-American and Vietnamese person in the office.

[45] The agency's first few weeks under Pham saw 128 undocumented immigrants detained in California as a part of Operation Rise, an initiative that was criticized for targeting sanctuary cities.

[65][66] With his resignation, two advocacy groups claimed said that he would be remembered for his "gross abuse of power" with "little regard for our refugee and immigrant communities’ health and safety during a global pandemic.