College Freshman Deported to Honduras Despite Federal Order, Attorney Says

A 19-year-old college freshman hoping to surprise her family for Thanksgiving instead ended up deported to Honduras, as reported by the NY Post.
Photo Credit: Any Lucia Lopez Belloza Selfie

A 19-year-old college freshman hoping to surprise her family for Thanksgiving instead ended up deported to Honduras, as reported by the NY Post. Her attorney says it happened despite a federal order meant to stop her removal.

Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a Babson College student, had already gone through security at Boston Logan International Airport on Nov. 20 when officials told her there was a problem with her boarding pass, according to her lawyer, Todd Pomerleau. She was detained by immigration authorities and, within two days, sent first to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left when she was 7.

“She’s absolutely heartbroken,”

Pomerleau said.

“Her college dream has just been shattered.”

ICE says an immigration judge ordered her deported in 2015. But Pomerleau says she had no idea about any removal order, and the only document he’s found shows her case was closed in 2017.

“They’re holding her responsible for something they claim happened a decade ago that she’s completely unaware of and not showing any of the proof,”

he said.

A day after Lopez Belloza was taken into custody, a federal judge issued an emergency order blocking the government from moving her out of Massachusetts or the U.S. for at least 72 hours. ICE did not answer a request for comment from the Associated Press about why she was still deported.

Lopez Belloza is now staying with her grandparents in Honduras. She told The Boston Globe she had been excited to tell her parents and younger sisters about her first semester studying business.

“That was my dream,” she said. “I’m losing everything.”

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