Federal Court Orders Return of Deported College Student
By Clerfania Previlon
Courtesy of Democracy Now
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to bring back a Babson College freshman who was deported to Honduras while trying to fly home for Thanksgiving.
The student, 19-year-old Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, was removed from the country despite a court order that was meant to prevent her deportation. Lopez Belloza was traveling from Boston to see her family in Texas when she was detained due to problems with her boarding pass.
Immigration officials claimed an immigration judge ordered Lopez Belloza to be deported in 2015. However, attorney Todd Pomerleau said she wasn’t aware of the removal order, and records show her case was closed in 2017.
After Lopez Belloza was arrested in November, a federal judge issued an emergency order preventing her from being removed from the country for at least 72 hours. Despite the order, Lopez Belloza was deported and has been staying in Honduras with her grandparents since Nov. 22.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns has now issued an order to return Lopez Belloza to the United States by the end of February.
“We are pleased that the Court has ordered Any’s immediate return,” Pomerleau said in a statement per the AP. “She’s a remarkable, resilient young woman deserving of this outcome. We are thankful for the outpouring of support from those who have fought for Any’s Dream.”
Students say the case has sparked fear and frustration on college campuses, especially among those worried about their own immigration status.
“The case shows how not everybody gets their due process rights, even though the United States always talks about how every citizen deserves due process,” Onesies Rose, a first-year criminal justice major, said. “But when it comes to people they deem ‘aliens’, they don't get it. We're students, we're scared to even travel to get our education or go see our family because there is the possibility that we may be deported, even if we're American citizens.”
As the government works to comply with the court’s order, Lopez Belloza’s case continues to raise broader questions about due process and the protection of students navigating the U.S. immigration system.
