A Maryland mother was deported to Vietnam, her attorney confirmed Wednesday, after she was detained and released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier in the year.
Melissa Tran was initially taken into ICE custody in May and was ordered to be released in October by a judge who found the government was unnecessarily holding her. Despite being reunited with her family, she still faced deportation.
During her initial detainment, Tran spent several days in custody in Baltimore before she was moved to Louisiana, Arizona, and Tacoma, Washington.
The mother of four owns a nail salon in Hagerstown, Maryland. Her husband, Danny Hoang, told CBS News Baltimore Thursday he is now running the business alone while also raising their children.
“ICE arrested [Tran], a criminal illegal alien from Vietnam, [who] has a rap sheet including forgery, larceny, fraud, and writing fraudulent checks. An immigration judge issued her a final order of removal in 2004. She had over 20 years to leave and received full due process,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
According to her attorney, Tran came to the U.S. from Vietnam legally in the 1990s as a refugee with a Green Card.
In 2001, she admitted to stealing checks from her employer while she was a teenager. She pleaded guilty and was ordered for removal in 2003. However, Vietnam would not accept her as they refused to take back immigrants who came to the U.S. before 1995. So, Tran was able to stay in the U.S. with the requirement that she complete regular immigration check-ins.
According to her attorney, Tran has completed those check-ins for more than 20 years. However, during a check-in in Baltimore in May, she was detained.
“I know what I did was wrong, and I take responsibility for that,” Tran told WJZ in October. “For my kids to have to go through it is horrible for me to comprehend. Why? We always say if you change, you deserve a second chance.”
Tran’s attorney stated that she arrived in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, on Wednesday afternoon.
“She’s so sad,” Hoang told CBS News Baltimore. “She only wants to take care of the kids. Now, she can’t do that. It’s unfair to Melissa, unfair to my family. She’s not a criminal. She’s not a murderer. She’s a good person.”
