US says college student deported during Thanksgiving trip could have challenged removal as a child

A Massachusetts college student, deported while attempting to spend Thanksgiving with her family, reportedly had several opportunities to challenge a removal order issued during her childhood, according to a federal attorney.

Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, a freshman at Babson College, was sent to Honduras just two days after being detained at Boston's airport on November 20, despite a court order issued the following day that she remain in Massachusetts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter stated in a filing that the Boston judge lacked jurisdiction because Lopez Belloza was already in Texas, en route out of the country.

Her lawyer maintains that Lopez Belloza was unaware of the long-standing removal order and had no understanding of how to contest it. They also argue that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made it extremely difficult to locate her during the deportation process. The government contends that while her case could have been moved to Texas, it was unnecessary since she had already been released from custody in Honduras.

ICE did not conceal the petitioners location or fail to inform her family after her arrest on November 20, Sauter wrote, noting that she was able to call her family that afternoon and received guidance on filing a petition. He emphasized that her transfer to Texas was preparatory for removal, not to hide her whereabouts.

Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, counters that ICE provided no practical way to track her after that initial call. According to him, an ICE database showed her in Massachusetts on November 20, but contained no information the next day. Calls to the local field office went unanswered or ended with automated messages. We literally had to guess not only where our client was, but why she was being held, he said.

Lopez Belloza, now living with her grandparents, arrived in the U.S. at age 8 in 2014 and received a removal order a few years later without her knowledge. The government reports that a judge issued the removal order for Lopez Belloza and her mother in March 2016, and the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed an appeal in February 2017. Sauter noted she could have filed an appeal to the Fifth Circuit, requested reconsideration, or sought a stay from ICE.

Pomerleau argues these options were irrelevant since Lopez Belloza was a child and unaware of them, and a prior lawyer even advised her parents not to worry. She had all these ways of winning but was completely living her life with blindfolds on, he said.

The court has granted Pomerleau until December 11 to submit a formal response. He added that Lopez Belloza, though traumatized, is working with Babson College to complete her final exams and finish her freshman year remotely. Shes just a remarkable young woman, and were going to ensure she continues to have a bright future, he said.

Author: Jackson Miller