What was supposed to be a quick Thanksgiving trip home turned into a bureaucratic nightmare, as the Trump administration apologized in federal court this week after U.S. officials deported Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old Babson College freshman who grew up in Austin, while she was trying to fly home for the holiday. Lopez Belloza was detained at Boston Logan International Airport in late November and was flown to Honduras two days after a judge issued an emergency order attempting to halt her removal. Her attorney has asked the court to order her return and has urged officials to find a way for her to finish college.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter told the judge, “On behalf of the government, we want to sincerely apologize,” acknowledging that an ICE officer “made a mistake,” according to Reuters. Prosecutors said the violation appeared inadvertent while also arguing that the removal itself was legally permitted under an older order.
How the deportation unfolded
According to The Associated Press, Lopez Belloza was detained at Logan on Nov. 20 and, despite a Nov. 21 emergency order barring her removal for at least 72 hours, was transferred to Texas and deported to Honduras on Nov. 22. Her lawyers say she was trying to surprise her parents in Texas and had not been aware of any active removal order when she boarded the flight.
Judge floats visa as a practical fix
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns called the episode a "tragic case of bureaucracy gone wrong" and raised the possibility of resolving the matter by issuing a student visa so Lopez Belloza could return to finish her studies, The Boston Globe reported. Stearns did not immediately order her return, instead pressing the government for a remedy that would "not lose sight that we have a real human being here."
Austin connection and campus support
Lopez Belloza attended high school in Austin before winning a scholarship to Babson, and Austin outlets have followed the case closely, according to KVUE. Babson College has told faculty to provide academic and community support while Lopez Belloza continues classes remotely, per The Associated Press.
Legal stakes and government position
The government told the court it believes the removal was lawful because an immigration judge issued a removal order in 2016 and the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed an appeal in 2017, Reuters noted. Lopez Belloza’s attorney says those records are unclear and that moving her after the emergency order deprived her of due process.
What comes next
The judge said he would rule later after weighing whether he has jurisdiction and what remedy is appropriate, and the case now centers on whether the State Department or the courts will fashion a pathway for Lopez Belloza to return. For Austin students and advocates, the episode has underscored concerns about aggressive enforcement of old removal orders and the human cost when systems fail.
