Tense moments as Maryland mother detained by ICE for months reports to immigration for first time since release

Melissa Tran, a mother of four from Hagerstown, Maryland, reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Baltimore for the first time since a judge ordered her release following months in custody. 

Tran came to the United States legally as a refugee from Vietnam in 1993, but a conviction involving theft from her employer in 2001 left her vulnerable for deportation.

She had been checking in regularly with immigration officials for more than 20 years without issue until they held her last May. 

Fear at the federal ICE building 

An anxious Melissa Tran spoke to WJZ Investigates when she arrived for her check-in with ICE just after 8 a.m. Monday. 

"I feel nervous, very nervous, because I don't know what's going to happen to me," she said. 

Tran already had a difficult conversation with her family and told them she may not make it home.

"My children asked me if I would be detained, and I said, 'I don't know. I hope not,'" Tran told WJZ. 

She then went inside to join her lawyer with her future uncertain. 

Journey from Vietnam 

Tran came to the United States legally at age 11 as a refugee from Vietnam.

But decades ago, she said she stole money from an employer, under pressure from an abusive ex-boyfriend. 

Tran paid back the debt and served her time. However, the conviction for that single, non-violent crime led to an order of removal. 

Still, for more than 20 years, the government allowed her to stay and build her family in Hagerstown where she owns a business.

In May, Tran was detained and transported around the country until a federal judge ordered her release. 

What happened Monday? 

After several hours, Tran emerged from Baltimore's federal building with her lawyer with good news. 

She would be allowed to return home. 

"I'm glad I get to go home with my family today, but I don't know what's going to happen the next time," Tran said.

She said she continues to live in fear. 

"It's fear all the time," Tran told WJZ. 

There was one catch: ICE demanded she wear an ankle monitor. 

Her lawyer, Bernard Semler, planned to fight that. 

"She should be released under the same conditions prior to when she was detained, so it's our position with the ankle monitor is not the same conditions and would violate the order," Semler said. 

Semler also reflected on the hours he spent inside the federal building where people lined up early to check in with ICE. 

"When you're up there, and there's a long line of people, you can kind of see the fear in each one of their eyes," Semler said. 

That is why he is thankful she walked out with him Monday, unlike what happened to Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the same office in August. 

"We just tried to stay positive because in the end to not be detained, you've got to look at the glass half full," Semler said. 

Tran told WJZ she was "blessed" on Monday. 

She has a court hearing coming up soon. 

Tran is not only fighting to stay in the United States but also deportation to a third country.

"I feel very happy that I will get to walk out because I was very scared when I was sitting there for over an hour. I was like, 'Uh-oh something is going to happen like last time,'" Tran said. 

Conditions at ICE facility in Baltimore 

Following her release last week, Tran described how she was taken into custody for five days in Baltimore. 

She said she was housed with nine women in unsanitary conditions. 

"No shower, nothing. No personal hygiene. No toothbrush to brush your teeth," Tran described. 

The women were kept in one room with an inflatable mattress and no blankets.

"I was in shock," Tran said.

She was then taken to Louisiana, Arizona and ended up in Tacoma, Washington.

She said she was always shackled on various buses and planes but relied on the many letters of support she received from friends in Maryland to keep her spirits up. 

"When you're sitting there—and you don't know what's happening to you—and you think all these negative thoughts, it's the letters that I received from the people in the community saying you have to stay strong. We are fighting for you. We are praying for you. It gives me hope," Tran said.