The Trump administration has formally apologised in a federal court for what it termed a "mistake" in the deportation of a 19-year-old university student who was detained at Boston's airport while attempting to fly home for Thanksgiving.
A Sudden Detention and Swift Removal
Any Lucía López Belloza, a freshman at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, was taken into custody at Boston's airport on 20 November. Despite an emergency court order issued the following day, which directed authorities to keep her within the United States for legal proceedings, she was flown to Honduras just two days after her initial detention.
The court had explicitly ordered the government to keep López Belloza in Massachusetts or elsewhere in the US for a minimum of 72 hours. Her lawyers argue this order was flagrantly violated, depriving her of due process.
Government Apology and Legal Arguments
During a hearing this week in Boston's federal court, Assistant US Attorney Mark Sauter offered a sincere apology on behalf of the government. He stated that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer mistakenly believed the judicial order no longer applied and failed to activate a system that would have flagged the case and halted the removal.
"The violation was an inadvertent mistake by one individual, not a willful act of violating a court order," Sauter told the court. The ICE officer involved later admitted in a declaration that he did not notify the enforcement office in Port Isabel, Texas, to cancel the removal mission.
However, prosecutors continued to argue that the deportation itself was lawful. They pointed out that an immigration judge had ordered the removal of López Belloza and her mother back in 2016, and the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed their appeal in 2017. The government maintains that she could have pursued further legal avenues to stay her deportation.
Ongoing Fallout and Future Prospects
López Belloza, whose family emigrated from Honduras when she was seven, is currently staying with grandparents and studying remotely. She is not in detention. In a concerning postscript, ICE officers reportedly visited her parents' home in Austin, Texas, in early December, behaving aggressively before leaving without taking action.
Her lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, expressed disappointment that the government has not shown leniency by facilitating her return. "I was hoping the government would show some leniency and bring her back," he said. "They violated a court order." Pomerleau suggested one resolution would be to allow his client to return to finish her studies while he works to reopen the original removal order.
Federal Judge Richard Stearns described the situation as a "tragic" bureaucratic error and acknowledged the government's apology. While he noted the violation did not appear intentional and seemed to rule out holding the government in contempt, he also questioned his jurisdiction over the case. Judge Stearns suggested López Belloza might explore applying for a student visa as a potential path forward.
The case highlights the complex and often harsh realities of US immigration enforcement, where a single procedural error can have life-altering consequences.
