In brief
In a tragic turn of events, Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old Babson College freshman, was deported to Honduras while trying to return to her family in Texas for Thanksgiving. Originally from Honduras and having left the country at the age of seven, Lopez Belloza was detained at Boston Logan International Airport due to an issue with her boarding pass and subsequently deported by immigration officials despite a prior court order. Her attorney claims she was uninformed about any removal order and expressed deep distress over losing her opportunity for a college education and family connection.
Concord, N.H. — A college freshman attempting to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving found herself unexpectedly deported to Honduras, a country she left at the age of seven, according to statements made by her attorney. Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had navigated through security at Boston Logan International Airport on November 20 when officials flagged an issue with her boarding pass. Shortly thereafter, she was detained by immigration authorities, and within just two days, she was sent first to Texas and then onwards to Honduras. Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, reported that Lopez Belloza is lamenting the situation, expressing immense disappointment. “She’s absolutely heartbroken,” he said. “Her college dream has just been shattered.” The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that an immigration judge had ordered her deportation in 2015. However, Pomerleau countered that Lopez Belloza had no awareness of such an order, noting that other records suggest her case had been resolved 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 stated. Adding to the troubling nature of her case, a federal judge issued an emergency ruling prohibiting the government from removing Lopez Belloza from Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours following her arrest; however, ICE has yet to respond regarding the apparent violation of this order. Babson College has also not commented on the situation. Now residing with her grandparents in Honduras, Lopez Belloza has expressed her heartbreak in an interview with The Boston Globe, revealing her anguish about missing the chance to share her college journey with her family. “That was my dream,” she mourned. “I’m losing everything.”
