Author: CNN Newsource

By Mike Hellgren

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    HAGERSTOWN, Maryland (WJZ) — Melissa Tran is back in Maryland after federal immigration authorities detained her more than five months ago over a non-violent conviction two decades earlier.

The mother of five, and Hagerstown business owner, spoke with WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren as her future remains uncertain.

Tran’s ordeal started with her annual check-in with immigration in downtown Baltimore—a routine she has done for more than 20 years.

“Just a normal check-in,” Tran said. “You go and you show them your identification, and then, they give you your next appointment date.”

This time, ICE detained her without explanation. Tran spent five days in Baltimore.

She described being housed with nine women in filthy conditions.

“No shower, nothing. No personal hygiene. No toothbrush to brush your teeth,” Tran said.

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

“I was in shock,” Tran said.

Tran 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,” Tran said. “It gives me hope.”

Tran, 43, came to America from Vietnam legally as a refugee in the 1990s, her lawyer said.

As a teenager, she admitted to stealing some checks from her employer.

She pleaded guilty, and a judge entered an order of removal in 2003, but because Vietnam would not accept her, she was allowed to stay as long as she checked in regularly with immigration.

“I know what I did was wrong, and I take responsibility for that,” Tran said. “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.”

It is uncertain now if she will get that second chance.

A federal judge found there was no need to continue her detention for now.

Tran said she was elated when she received the news that a federal judge ordered her release from detainment at a federal facility in Washington state.

She was overjoyed to finally hold her children again when she returned to Hagerstown, Maryland, on Monday.

“Just a moment to feel them and touch them,” Tran told Hellgren. “I’m finally home.”

She spent more than 150 days in ICE custody, with her four children constantly on her mind.

“I’ve never been away from them this long, so I thought about them every single moment,” Tran said. “I said, ‘What’s going to happen when I’m not home?’ I have an autistic son, so I did a lot with him, but now he’s without me. I just kind of said, ‘How are they going to survive without me?'” Tran said through tears.

A federal judge in Washington state found the government was unnecessarily detaining her, but Tran still faces deportation, possibly to a third country.

“I hope the judge will allow us to reopen my immigration case, and then we have a good outcome, and I can stay,” Tran said.

Tran has to report to immigration again in Baltimore next week.

One of her lawyers, Bernard Semler, is also a family friend.

“It’s unfortunate the immigration system has moved into one-size-fits-all, and it doesn’t take into consideration an individual’s work to get a second chance,” Semler said. “We’re hoping either through the judicial system or even politically, we’re hoping someone in the Trump administration might see this and say, ‘Hey, we need to look at these on a case-by-case basis.'”

Semler noted his client’s past theft conviction has been reclassified and is no longer considered an aggravated felony, and said she has been building a stable life and family for decades without trouble.

“She has been here legally, checking in, doing everything she is supposed to,” Semler said. “She didn’t enter the country illegally. She’s been here the entire time.”

Semler hopes to avoid a deportation at all, but especially one to a third country.

“The government had agreed not to remove Melissa during the pendency of the case, but now the case is wrapping up,” Semler said. “We’re trying to get an agreement that they would not consider third-party removal for her.”

In a published statement, a Department of Homeland Security official referenced Tran’s past conviction and said the government was still pushing to remove her to Vietnam because of it.

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By Sergio Candido

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    Florida (WFOR) — Two Texas parents were arrested and face child neglect charges after authorities said they left their 6-month-old baby unattended on a Florida beach for nearly an hour while they walked away with their other children.

The incident took place on Oct. 10 in Miramar Beach, a census-designated area located just east of Destin in the Florida Panhandle.

Around noon that Friday, deputies responded to 4000 Sandestin Boulevard following reports of an unattended infant on the beach. When deputies arrived, witnesses confirmed the child had been left alone for nearly an hour beneath a tent while the parents walked down the beach with three other children, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday in a Facebook post detailing the arrest.

Good Samaritans immediately began caring for the child and called law enforcement, authorities said.

“We’re thankful for the quick-thinking beachgoer who raised the alarm and for those who stepped in to care for the child with the same kindness and concern they would show their own,” Sheriff Michael Adkinson said.

While deputies waited for South Walton Fire District personnel to arrive and assess the infant, the parents returned to the scene, where both admitted to placing the child under the tent for a nap before leaving with their other children, claiming they lost track of time, WCSO said.

Video showed Houston parents left baby alone for nearly an hour

Security footage obtained during the investigation confirmed the family was away for nearly an hour and did not bring their cellphone with them.

South Walton Fire personnel evaluated the infant and confirmed the child’s vitals were normal and they were not in distress. The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) was notified and responded immediately to the scene.

Both parents, Brian Wilks, 40, and Sara Wilks, 37, of Houston, Texas, were arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm. DCF took custody of the children pending the arrival of family members traveling from Texas. They both bonded out the following on Saturday, Oct. 11, on a $1,000 bond each.

“This incident serves as a reminder that even brief moments of inattention can have serious consequences and can sometimes lead to tragic outcomes,” the sheriff’s office said.

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By Glenda Lewis

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    SOUTHFIELD, Michigan (WXYZ) — For the first time in five years, the mother of a woman mistakenly declared dead in Southfield is speaking out about her ongoing fight for justice.

Erica Lattimore’s daughter, 20-year-old Timesha Beauchamp, was found alive in a funeral home in 2020, but the case still has not gone to court.

Just three days before a scheduled trial, the Oakland County Circuit Court issued an order postponing it for a third time.

“That’s devastating to a family already to hear she’s deceased, prepare your mind mentally that you have to prepare a funeral initially and then to hear someone say, ‘No, your child is alive,'” Lattimore said.

Lattimore’s attorneys met with media at Fieger Law Offices to share the heartbreak over what they say has been five years of endless delays, appeals and denials being used to keep the mother from having her day in court.

“Three days before this family was finally supposed to have an opportunity to tell their story, finally have an opportunity to confront the government for what they did. Instead, because of laws here in Michigan that give the government and only the government chance after chance after chance to avoid accountability,” attorney Steve Hurbis said.

The incident occurred in August 2020 when Beauchamp, who had cerebral palsy and was nonverbal, was having trouble breathing. After a medical crew tried to resuscitate her, a doctor pronounced her dead by phone. She was taken to the morgue instead of the hospital, where she was found with her eyes open and alive when the body bag was unzipped. Beauchamp eventually died almost two months later.

“They found Timesha alive in a body bag at a funeral home,” attorney Steve Hurbis said. “Her family had to receive a phone call on one of the most challenging days of their entire life telling them that their little girl was alive. She was alive when she was placed in that body bag and it was the actions of the government’s employees that got her there.”

“This is the second time we’ve been up to the Court of Appeals on government immunity issues in this case,” attorney Jennifer Damico said. “We’re very confident that we will prevail. Again, the problem is that’s just more delay. I don’t know how long it’ll take for the Court of Appeals, but, I mean, probably got another year until we get this case back in line for trial.”

The delays have taken a toll on Beauchamp’s siblings — an older brother and a twin brother, who has autism. Lattimore says they are both having a hard time accepting what happened, with sleepless nights spent in their sister’s room.

Despite the emotional toll, Lattimore remains determined.

“I had to be stronger for her two siblings, so all of my emotions and stuff, I kind of buried them …” an emotional Lattimore said. “I’m not giving up. I will go through the long haul, however long it takes. She lived 20 years. If it takes 20 more years for this to get heard in court and God gives me the breath, I’m there.”

Attorneys for the city of Southfield have not yet responded to requests for comment about the third appeal.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WXYZ’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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By Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.com

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    REXBURG, Idaho (eastidahonews.com) — A 35-year-old man has been charged after a video was sent to the Rexburg Police Department, allegedly showing him strangling and throwing a 3-year-old child against a bed.

Joshua Daniel Swager of Rexburg was charged with one felony count of injury to a child, for which he faces a potential punishment of up to 10 years and or a fine of $50,000.

His bond was set at $100,000.

According to court documents, an officer with RPD had received an anonymous report that Swager had committed child abuse on Sept. 30.

The report has video from a camera inside where the alleged abuse occurred.

The document, along with timestamps, states that at the beginning of the video, Swager is seen lying in a bed in a living room.

At the three-second mark, Swager is heard to say, “I’m sick and tired of the screaming,” as two boys enter the room.

One of the boys is heard telling Swager he’ll tell another family member, but Swager told him not to. The document shows Swager may have yelled at the boy.

At the 19-second mark, Swager is seen sitting up, and is followed by a scream of a child who is out of view of the camera.

Swager is seen walking toward where the scream came from.

The document states that at 28 to 32 seconds, one of the boys is seen moving toward a reclining chair and hiding behind it in fear.

At the 32-second mark, Swager walks back into the camera’s view and is seen holding a 3-year-old girl by the neck in his right hand. The girl is heard whimpering.

A few seconds later, Swager is seen grabbing the back of the girl’s neck and throwing her against the bed.

The document states that Swager had held the girl by the neck for six seconds.

Swager is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge David Hunt for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 15.

Though Swager has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

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By Hamilton Kahn

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    ROSWELL, New Mexico (KOAT) — Sometimes, all it takes is a single word to cause an uproar.

A door-cam video that has gotten a lot of attention online captured a terse exchange between a woman candidate for the Roswell school board who is a Democrat and a Republican woman who had once sought a seat in the state House of Representatives.

The school board candidate, Sarah McArthur, was going door-to-door to get votes. Instead, she got a chilly reception from Tracy De La Rosa.

When De La Rosa asked if she was affiliated with Emerge, an organization that recruits Democratic women to run for elective office. McArthur said yes.

De La Rosa then said, “We don’t want Emerge candidates in New Mexico.”

Then, to her deep regret after the fact, McArthur’s response included a word that is considered to be a slur against the LGBTQ+ community.

“Well, we don’t want MAGA fa****s either,” McArthur said.

De La Rosa said, “Did you just say ‘fa****s’? because I got it on camera,” and McArthur said, “Good, I’m glad.”

Once the video was posted online, McArthur decided to make a public apology.

“I meant to say ‘fascist,’ and in the heat of the moment, the wrong word came out,” McArthur wrote. “I take full responsibility for using a hateful and unacceptable word. It was wrong and I deeply regret it. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ+ community and to everyone I’ve disappointed.”

In a subsequent Facebook post, De La Rosa had the last word — for now, at least.

“What happened to inclusion?” De La Rosa wrote. “I thought we could all believe whatever we want to believe without hate.”

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