Shocking past of ‘mother and businesswoman’ whose ICE detainment has made liberals howl with fury

A Vietnamese mother and business owner whose deportation sparked liberal outrage has an extensive criminal record, it can be revealed. 

Melissa Tran, 43, owned Nail Palace and Spa, a nail salon in Hagerstown, Maryland, where she became a pillar of the community. 

She had arrived in the US on a Green Card at the age of 11 after fleeing Vietnam in 1993. The mom-of-four was unexpectedly detained by ICE in May and was deported back to Vietnam this week.

Now it can be revealed that she has criminal convictions, including grand larceny and multiple counts of forgery and fraud, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Her arrest triggered uproar, with protestors rallying to get her out of custody. 

They held demonstrations in front of her salon, wearing ‘Bring Melissa Home’ shirts while chanting the same slogan. 

After five months of being held in facilities in Louisiana, Arizona and Washington, a judge ordered her release last month.

But despite her release, Tran was deported to Vietnam on Monday after her homeland agreed to issue her a passport, WBAL-TV reported.  

She learned of the development during an ICE check-in last Friday. 

Tran has been obliged to complete these every month for 20 years after pleading guilty in Fairfax County, Virginia, to stealing checks from a doctor’s office where she worked as a receptionist in 2001.

A judge issued a final order for her to be deported in 2004, but her removal was delayed by a Vietnamese ban on immigrants who arrived in the US before July 12, 1995, from returning.

Her lawyer confirmed that she landed in Hanoi on Wednesday, CBS News reported. 

‘Melissa Tran came here on a Green Card at age 11,’ Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen wrote on X on Wednesday. 

‘She’s since raised four kids, started a business, & is a beloved member of the Hagerstown community.’

He continued: ‘Trump is deporting her, despite a judge saying she poses no threat. Is she the “worst of the worst”? Do you feel safer yet?’ 

In response to the distraught senator’s assertion, DHS spokesman Tricia McLaughlin shared ‘some pesky facts’ about Tran’s past. 

‘Mong Tuyen Thi Tran is a criminal illegal alien from Vietnam, with criminal convictions including grand larceny, multiple counts of forgery and fraud,’ McLaughlin wrote using Tran’s Vietnamese name.

The DHS spokesman added: ‘President Trump and Secretary Noem’s message is clear: criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.’ 

According to court records reviewed by The Baltimore Banner, Tran pleaded guilty to stealing the checks more than 20 years ago because her ‘abusive and manipulative’ boyfriend at the time needed money. 

Tran spent four months behind bars and paid all the money back, but a judge ordered her deportation shortly after she served her time. 

Since her conviction, Tran has married another Vietnamese immigrant, Danny Hoang, opened a successful business and started a family.   

‘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.’

Despite her past, her neighbors and customers are furious that she was ripped away from her loved ones. 

‘She’s just such a good person,’ Kitty Chamos, a family friend of Tran, told WBAL-TV 11 on Wednesday. 

‘She paid her debt, she did wrong, but she paid her debt. It should not be like this.’