asianswithattitudes 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. 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. View all 417 comments