As much as any other promise Trump made on the campaign trail, his vow to immediately conduct mass deportations has perhaps been the one he’s delivered on the most, even if we have yet to see the sweeping numbers of deportations he promised back in 2024. Inevitably, that means even Trump supporters have been swept up in various ICE raids and arrests around the country.
This week, we reported on how that unusual scenario has played out here in North Texas.
Dung “Yo” Thach was arrested by ICE in July when he visited a local immigration office to renew his residency paperwork. Thach came to America in 1980, legally seeking asylum as a child with his brother and mother from Vietnam following his father’s death. Although Thach was a legal permanent resident, he never became a U.S. citizen. And nearly 20 years ago, he served two years in prison following a felony drug conviction.
As Observer contributor Mark Henricks reported, Thach has made the most of his post-conviction life in North Texas. He became a popular, respected member of the local BMX and mountain biking community while co-owning a sign-making business with his brother. By most accounts, Thach was a responsible contributor to the local community and a respectable family man, with a wife and kids at home.
However, Thach and his wife, Lan, tend to use their social media accounts to promote conservative views, memes, and jokes. In June, Lan repeatedly posted pro-Trump images and memes mocking immigrants, criticizing ICE protesters, and ironically, her steadfast support of ICE.
In our report, we highlight some of their right-leaning X posts to point out the irony involved in this equation, but we also spoke to friends of Yo Thach’s who have nice things to say about him, care for him and hope to see him avoid deportation. But the immigration experts we spoke to say that under the president that Thach’s wife so openly endorses, Yo’s chances of being deported are far greater now than they would've been under the previous president, thanks to Trump’s aggressive promise of mass deportations.
As any loyal Observer reader might guess at this point, Observer social media followers had some thoughts on this story, especially on Facebook. Below is a sampling of the comments many expressed online. Have an opinion on this you'd like to share with us and the Dallas community? Email [email protected] (and it might get published in our Opinion section).
From Shawn on Facebook:
If only somebody had tried to warn them…
From Rochre on Facebook:
When it was only supposed to happen to THOSE people over there.
From Shannon on Facebook:
I hope he gets the same care & concern that he afforded others with his politics. Thoughts & Tariffs.
Jason on Facebook:
Is this article trying to say we shouldn't enforce laws concerning immigration or is it just supposed to manipulate people based on emotion and one outlier case.
A Reddit user posted the article on r/LeopardsAteMyFace, and the comments section there was even less forgiving than that of the Observer’s Facebook page.
From Djwhat6 on Reddit:
There’s always the option to go with him. I think she should take that opportunity since she “stands with ICE.”
From Auntieup on Reddit:
She thinks she and her husband are MAGA, but MAGA does not agree.
From Drymenu_4804 on Reddit:
She stands with ICE, her husband is staying with ICE.
From Shadyshade84 on Reddit:
You stand with ICE, ICE stands on you.
