Melissa Tran is a mother, a wife, a small business owner, and a beloved member of the Maryland community. She has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, since 1993, and built her entire life here. Now she has been torn from her family and deported to Vietnam, a country she has not lived in since she was a child.

Melissa made a mistake in 2001. She was 20 years old, in an abusive relationship, and pled guilty to stealing from her employer. She served her sentence and paid restitution. Since then, she has turned her life around by graduating from college, opening a successful nail salon, and raising four children. She never missed a single check-in with immigration officials.

Still, in May 2025, she was detained by ICE and held for five months. A judge ordered her release when Vietnam initially refused to issue travel documents. But as soon as they did, she was re-detained and deported, leaving her children behind.

This is not justice. This is cruelty.

We are calling on the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration to grant humanitarian parole or deferred action and bring Melissa home to Maryland. She poses no threat. Her family depends on her. Her community wants her back.

Our immigration system must not be used to punish people who have already paid their debt and built good lives. Melissa’s children are suffering. Her business is shuttered. A family is being broken apart for no good reason.

Sign this petition to demand that Melissa Tran be brought home. She belongs with her children, not exiled for a decades-old mistake.

Photo Credit: WCJB