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College Student’s Shocking Deportation Leaves Future in Limbo
As she sat aboard a deportation flight to Texas, Any Lucia Lopez Belloza kept asking herself why. The 19-year-old Babson College freshman with no criminal record found herself suddenly being sent back to Honduras, a country she hadn’t seen since she was 8 years old.
“It just shocked me. I was numb,” Lopez Belloza told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Honduras, where she’s staying with her grandparents. Her ordeal began on November 20 when she was detained at Boston’s airport while attempting to fly home to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving. Two days later, she was deported.
The U.S. government has since apologized for federal immigration authorities mistakenly deporting her despite a Massachusetts judge’s order prohibiting her removal from the country. Her lawyer has asked a federal judge to order the Trump administration to develop a plan for her return to the United States.
Lopez Belloza and her mother were ordered deported several years after arriving in the U.S. While the government maintains she missed multiple opportunities to appeal, Lopez Belloza claims her previous attorney told her there was no removal order in place. She insists she never would have attempted to fly home in November had she known.
“The hardest part has been missing the holidays with my parents,” she said, describing periods of depression and tears since her deportation. She worries about her parents in Texas, who she says fear leaving their house because they’ve also been targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite applying for green cards.
“They’re scared to step outside because of how everything is,” she explained. “They’re traumatized. I’m traumatized.”
The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on her parents’ case and has yet to respond in court to her attorney’s request to bring her back to the U.S.
Lopez Belloza’s nightmare intensified at the airport when an immigration agent told her she needed to sign a deportation document to speak with a lawyer. After refusing, she was transferred to an ICE facility holding cell with only a thermal blanket. In court documents, she described spending two nights packed among 17 other women without enough space to lie down and sleep.
“Those hours I was detained, it was so horrible,” she recounted.
Before boarding the flight to Honduras, the reality of her situation became clear. Her dreams of earning a business degree at Babson and opening a tailoring shop with her father seemed suddenly out of reach.
“I guess this is where my dreams are gone,” she remembered thinking. “Because in Honduras, if you want to dream big, it’s like you have to have a lot of money. You have to be rich. But in the United States, dreams are possible. You can make them happen.”
Despite this setback, Lopez Belloza is keeping her spirits up by speaking regularly with her mother and maintaining her faith. Babson College has offered support as she continues her studies remotely, and she has decided to remain enrolled rather than transfer to a university in Honduras.
“I’m so appreciative of the apology that the government made,” she said, referring to the admission in court that an ICE officer mistakenly kept her name on a deportation flight list despite the court order. “Knowing that it was a mistake, it does hurt me. Based on that mistake that they made, my life did a 360 change.”
Lopez Belloza’s case isn’t the first involving a deportation carried out despite a court order. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador even with a ruling that should have prevented it. The Trump administration initially fought efforts to bring him back but eventually complied after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened. Similarly, a Guatemalan man identified as O.C.G. was returned to the U.S. last June after a judge found his removal likely “lacked any semblance of due process.”
Her lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, referenced both cases in a court filing Friday, requesting a two-week deadline for federal officials to find a way to bring her back. The filing outlines several possible paths, including a student visa, though Pomerleau noted this route would likely be complicated by her prior removal order.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns ruled late Friday that while he lacked jurisdiction over Lopez Belloza’s habeas petition since it was filed after she was flown to Texas, he urged the Trump administration to find a remedy for their mistake.
“There is happily no one-size-fits-all solution for seeing that justice be done in what all agree was an amalgam of errors that ended badly for Any,” Stearns wrote. He suggested that the U.S. Secretary of State could issue her a non-immigrant student visa allowing her to continue her studies at Babson while her immigration status is resolved through proper legal channels.
Pomerleau called the ruling “excellent news” as it asks the government to “come up with a solution” within three weeks to return Lopez Belloza to the United States.
“I’m anxious to talk to the government representatives about a workable solution,” he added.
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12 Comments
This case highlights the need for greater oversight and accountability in the immigration system. Mistaken deportations can have devastating impacts on individuals’ lives and futures.
Agreed, there must be rigorous checks and balances to prevent such errors. This young woman deserves to have her rights and status properly adjudicated.
This is a troubling case of mistaken deportation, with serious consequences for the student’s life. I hope the courts can quickly resolve this and get her safely back to the U.S. to continue her education.
Agreed, it’s deeply concerning that someone with no criminal record could be deported in error like this. The government needs to ensure proper procedures are in place to prevent such mistakes.
Mistaken deportations are an unacceptable violation of an individual’s rights. This student deserves to have her case thoroughly reviewed and to be returned to the U.S. to continue her education.
Absolutely, the government has an obligation to ensure due process is followed, especially for law-abiding individuals like this college student. I hope a swift resolution can be found.
While the details are still emerging, this appears to be a tragic case of bureaucratic overreach. I hope the courts can quickly intervene to restore this student’s rightful place in the U.S.
It’s concerning that someone on an academic track could face such a severe disruption to their life plans. The government should prioritize resolving this case promptly.
Deportation is a harsh penalty, especially for a student with no criminal history. I hope this young woman is able to return to the U.S. and complete her studies at Babson College as planned.
Absolutely, this seems like an egregious violation of due process. The government should act swiftly to rectify the situation and ensure her safe return.
This is a deeply troubling situation. The government must be held accountable for the harm caused by this erroneous deportation and take immediate steps to rectify the situation.
Agreed, the government’s actions in this case are inexcusable. They should work quickly to return this student to the U.S. and provide appropriate compensation for the disruption to her life.