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BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge in Boston has mandated the return of a college student who was deported to Honduras while on a Thanksgiving trip last November. The student must be back in the United States within two weeks.
Judge Richard Stearns of the U.S. District Court has ordered that 19-year-old Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a freshman at Babson College, be returned by the end of February.
Stearns expressed disappointment that the Trump administration had not resolved the issue after admitting to mistakenly deporting Lopez Belloza. He felt compelled to intervene, emphasizing that it is the court’s responsibility to assess her rights and the legality of her deportation.
“This matter is not for the Executive to decide unilaterally, regardless of its position in court concerning her removal,” Stearns stated.
Lopez Belloza’s lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, expressed satisfaction with the judge’s decision.
“We are pleased that the Court has ordered Any’s immediate return,” he said in a statement. “She’s a remarkable, resilient young woman deserving of this outcome. We are thankful for the outpouring of support from those who have fought for Any’s Dream.”
Asked about the decision, the Department of Homeland Security e-mailed a statement saying Lopez Belloza received “full due process” and a final order of removal. The federal agency said she entered the U.S. in 2014 and that the removal order was issued by an immigration judge the following year.
The government has said she missed multiple opportunities to appeal. But Lopez Belloza said her previous attorney told her there had been no removal order.
Pomerleau said previously that the government’s response “spills a lot of ink on the difficulty of a student visa, but it fails to address the numerous simple solutions available to itself to rectify its ‘mistaken’ deportation.” Pomerleau could not be reached for comment late Friday.
Lopez Belloza, who has no criminal history, was detained at Boston’s airport Nov. 20 as she prepared to fly home to Texas for the holiday. She was deported two days later.
She has been staying with her grandparents in her native Honduras, a country she had last been to more than a decade ago.
Babson has offered her support to continue her studies remotely, as she pursues a business degree.
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Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.