Melissa Tran shared a message with her community one week after the Department of Homeland Security deported the Hagerstown mother of four to Vietnam, a country she left as a child.
Tran had lived legally in the United States, but the Trump administration moved to deport her over a decades-old theft conviction in Virginia. Her situation escalated earlier this year during a routine check-in with immigration officials in Baltimore.
Tran’s message
In a letter posted to the Bring Melissa Home Facebook page, Tran wrote about the emotional toll of her deportation.
“In my most sorrow, desperate, loneliest moments, knowing that my departure from the U.S. is imminent, I cried and asked God for his guidance,” she said.
She wrote that she is struggling to adjust to life in Vietnam without her husband and children, saying she is “very saddened and heartbroken that I had to leave the country I have called home for the last 32 years.”
The Facebook group shared the first photo of Tran since she returned to Vietnam after two days of travel. Her lawyer said Tran and other deportees were shackled throughout the trip.
In her letter, Tran described the journey as “very long and exhausting,” but said she feels “free” knowing she no longer has to fear mandatory immigration check-ins.
“I feel very lonely here. Every second, my heart aches because I miss Danny and the kids terribly,” she wrote.
Her husband, Danny Hoang, an American citizen, previously told WJZ, “It’s unfair for Melissa. Unfair for my family. She’s not a criminal. She’s not a murderer. She is a good person.”
Faith and reflection
Tran shared that while waiting for her departure in Louisiana, she read a book that included a passage from Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” She said the verse brought her peace.
“I don’t know what my future will be, but I put all my hope and faith in God,” she wrote.
Tran closed her letter by saying she is “very sorry if I’ve offended or hurt anyone,” adding that she cherishes her memories and hopes to reunite with her community someday. She asked for prayers for her children, her husband—who now must care for them alone—and for her own strength as she starts over.
Her supporters say she may have access to a laptop next week, allowing her to communicate more directly.
Limited options for return
Jennie Pasquarella of the Seattle Clemency Project, Tran’s attorney, previously helped secure her release from a Washington detention center earlier this year. Now that Tran has been deported, she says returning will be much more difficult.
“My heart has broken for her and her family,” Pasquarella said. “It makes me wonder what it will take for our country to wake up and see what is happening to so many families. The cruelty cannot be stated enough.”
One potential avenue would be working with incoming Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger to obtain a pardon for the decades-old theft conviction, which allowed the government to enforce a long-dormant deportation order.
“We hope there’s still a chance to reopen her immigration case and get her removal order vacated, which would restore her green card,” Pasquarella said. “But in Virginia, there are very limited pathways to challenge an old conviction.”
Tran, a refugee, was allowed to stay in the U.S. after her conviction because Vietnam previously refused to issue travel documents. That changed under pressure from the Trump administration.
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen questioned the deportation, saying, “Here you have a woman who was beloved by her community, started a small business. Is she really the worst of the worst? Do people really feel safer now that Melissa Tran has been deported? I don’t think so.”
The Department of Homeland Security stated, “An immigration judge issued her a final order of removal in 2004. She had over 20 years to leave and received full due process. President Trump and Secretary Noem’s message is clear: criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.”
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