A Massachusetts college student, Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, has been deported to Honduras after an attempt to surprise her family in Texas for Thanksgiving. The 19-year-old business major at Babson College had entered the U.S. in 2014 when she was just eight years old and was detained at Boston Logan International Airport last Thursday just before boarding her flight.
According to her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, Lopez Belloza was informed that there was an issue with her ticket as she scanned her boarding pass. Despite having passed through security without problems, she was directed to a customer service desk from which she was taken into federal custody, unable to comprehend the situation.
“They wouldn’t tell her why she was being detained,” Pomerleau explained. After being transported to ICE’s Burlington field office, Lopez Belloza was flown to Texas, only to be deported to Honduras, a place she has not seen since her childhood. It wasn’t until two days later that she was able to inform her parents of her situation from her grandparents’ home in San Pedro Sula.
Lopez Belloza described her distress, stating, “I have worked so hard to be able to be at Babson my first semester, that was my dream. I’m losing everything.” Her situation reflects broader immigration issues as Nayna Gupta, policy director at the American Immigration Council, pointed out that Lopez Belloza had an outstanding removal order since 2017, which she was unaware of due to notifications often being sent to incorrect addresses.
Further complicating her case, court documents revealed that a federal judge had ordered the government not to transfer Lopez Belloza outside of Massachusetts, a directive reportedly ignored in her detainment. “She was in a court process that she thought ended favorably,” Pomerleau noted, adding that her constitutional rights were violated due to the nature of her arrest, which lacked prior notice or justification.
Lopez Belloza, who has no criminal record, was a promising student on scholarship, and her family had endured hardships since settling in the U.S., finding hope in her academic success. Ricky Soto, a family friend, expressed the family’s pride in her acceptance to Babson and conveyed the shock felt by many over the sudden upheaval of her life.
As Lopez Belloza contemplates her future in Honduras, her attorney is determined to advocate for her return, pledging to “fight like hell” to restore her status. This case illustrates the complexities and human impact of immigration policies, particularly during a time meant for family gatherings and gratitude.