Daijiworld Media Network - Boston

Boston, Jan 16: The Trump administration has formally apologized in federal court for a “mistake” that led to the deportation of Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old Babson College freshman, but argued that the error should not affect her immigration case.

Lopez Belloza was detained at Boston Logan Airport on November 20 while attempting to fly home to surprise her family for Thanksgiving and was deported to Honduras two days later. Her removal occurred despite an emergency court order issued on November 21 requiring the government to keep her in Massachusetts—or elsewhere in the United States—for at least 72 hours.

Lopez Belloza, whose family emigrated from Honduras to the U.S. in 2014, is currently staying with her grandparents and continuing her studies remotely. She recently visited an aunt in El Salvador and is not in detention.

At a federal court hearing in Boston on Tuesday, government attorneys acknowledged that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer mistakenly believed the court order no longer applied once Lopez Belloza had left Massachusetts. The officer failed to activate an alert system that informs other ICE officers when a case is under judicial review. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Mark Sauter called it “an inadvertent mistake by one individual, not a willful act of violating a court order,” and issued a formal apology on behalf of the government.

The government maintains that her deportation was lawful based on a 2016 order by an immigration judge and a subsequent appeal dismissal by the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2017. Prosecutors said Lopez Belloza could have pursued additional appeals or sought a stay of removal.

Her lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, countered that the deportation clearly violated the November 21 court order and deprived his client of due process. “They violated a court order. I was hoping the government would show some leniency and bring her back,” he said.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns described the situation as a “tragic” bureaucratic error but indicated that the violation did not appear intentional. He also questioned whether the court had jurisdiction, noting that the action had been filed several hours after Lopez Belloza had been sent to Texas. The judge suggested she could explore applying for a student visa to return to the U.S.

Pomerleau said one potential resolution could involve allowing Lopez Belloza to return to complete her studies while he works to reopen the underlying removal order.

This case is the latest in a series of instances where individuals were deported despite existing court orders, highlighting concerns about procedural lapses within ICE operations.