Concord, N.H. — A college freshman attempting to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in defiance of a court order, her attorney said.
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already cleared security at Boston Logan International Airport on Nov. 20 when officials informed her there was a problem with her boarding pass, according to attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration authorities and, within 48 hours, sent first to Texas and then to Honduras, which she left at age 7.
“She’s absolutely heartbroken,” Pomerleau said. “Her college dream has just been shattered.”
Babson College student Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was detained by immigration officials while traveling to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says an immigration judge ordered Lopez Belloza’s deportation in 2015. However, her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said she had no knowledge of any removal order, noting that the only record he has 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 without providing any proof,” Pomerleau said.
A day after Lopez Belloza was taken into custody, a federal judge issued an emergency order barring the government from removing her from Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours. ICE did not respond to an Associated Press email Friday seeking comment on the apparent violation of that order. Babson College also did not respond to a request for comment.
A federal judge had issued an emergency order barring the government from moving Lopez Belloza out of Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours, but she was returned to Honduras within two days.
Now staying with her grandparents in Honduras, Lopez Belloza told The Boston Globe that she had been excited to share with her parents and younger sisters how her first semester studying business was going.
“That was my dream,” she said. “I’m losing everything.”
