A college freshman who was wrongfully sent back to Honduras has turned down a government flight meant to return her to the United States after federal officials indicated they might immediately arrest and deport her once more.
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, age 20 and a student at Babson College in Massachusetts, was sent back to Honduras – a nation she departed at age 8 – following her detention at Logan International Airport in Boston while she was traveling to visit family in Texas for Thanksgiving.
The young woman was transported to Honduras on November 22, even though a Massachusetts judge had issued an order the day before preventing her deportation or transfer from the state for three days. A federal attorney later expressed regret for what he termed a “mistake.”
Federal Judge Richard Stearns in Boston issued a ruling on February 13 directing the Trump administration to correct their error by Friday through arranging Lopez Belloza’s return to the country.
Lopez Belloza shared with media that she initially felt thrilled Thursday when learning the government had organized a flight to bring her back.
“Hours later, that excitement turned into a nightmare,” Lopez Belloza said.
She explained that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official deceived her by consistently claiming Thursday that boarding the aircraft would result in her release once she landed in America.
“I believed him for a second,” she said. “I pictured stepping off of the plane and finally being free.”
However, in legal documents submitted Thursday afternoon, federal officials revealed plans to pursue her deportation again upon arrival. They stated they possessed authority to hold her if she accepted the ICE flight from Honduras to Texas, citing an existing final removal order issued when she was just 11 years old.
“I won’t mince words,” Lopez Belloza said during a virtual press conference. “I am angry. I am sad.”
Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, criticized the government’s approach as “gamesmanship” and promised to persist with her legal battle.
“I’m not stopping until she’s back here, but she’s not coming back in handcuffs,” he said.
In legal paperwork filed Friday, federal officials stated that Lopez Belloza failed to appear for a scheduled meeting regarding her departure and did not take the planned flight, despite previously agreeing to meet at an airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Christina Sterling, a representative for U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office, which has been opposing Lopez Belloza’s legal challenge, explained in a statement that the ICE flight was designed to restore the previous situation.
“The status quo that existed prior to her removal was that she was subject to a final order of removal and as the government argued throughout this case, ICE has statutory authority to detain an individual to effectuate such removal,” Sterling stated.
