Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 20-year-old freshman at Babson College in Massachusetts, has refused a flight arranged to return her to the United States. She cited fears that authorities could detain and deport her again.
Lopez Belloza was removed from the US in November, despite a court order that barred her deportation for 72 hours. She had been detained at Boston’s Logan International Airport while travelling to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with her family.
Having left Honduras at the age of eight, she found herself back in the country on 22 November. A government lawyer later called the deportation a “mistake.”
Court orders and legal response
On 13 February, US District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston ordered the administration to correct the error and arrange her return by 27 February. Lopez Belloza initially welcomed the news of a flight.
Her hopes faded when an ICE officer told her she could face detention and possible deportation upon arrival in the US. Court documents stated that the administration planned to enforce a final removal order issued when she was 11 years old.
“I believed him for a second,” Lopez Belloza said of the ICE officer. “I pictured stepping off the plane and finally being free.”
Her lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, criticised the administration’s actions as “gamesmanship” and said he would continue the legal fight.
“I’m not stopping until she’s back here, but she’s not coming back in handcuffs,” he said.
Later on 27 February, the administration reported that Lopez Belloza did not attend a pre-arranged meeting in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and did not board the scheduled flight.
A spokesperson for US Attorney Leah Foley said the ICE-arranged flight aimed to restore the “status quo.” “Before her removal, she was subject to a final order of removal. ICE has statutory authority to detain an individual to carry out such removal,” Christina Sterling said.
