A federal judge in Boston is being urged to compel the US administration to create a concrete plan to bring back a university student who was deported to Honduras in defiance of a judicial order.
A Thanksgiving Surprise Derailed
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a freshman at Babson College in Massachusetts, was detained at Boston Logan International Airport on 20 November. She was preparing to fly home to surprise her family for the Thanksgiving holidays. Instead, just two days later, she was removed to Honduras.
This action was taken despite an emergency court order issued on 21 November, which explicitly mandated that she be kept in the United States for a minimum of 72 hours. In a subsequent hearing, government lawyers conceded they had violated this judicial directive.
Legal Battle Over Jurisdiction and Return
In a court filing on Friday 16 January 2026, the student's attorney, Todd Pomerleau, petitioned the court to order the government to formulate a strategy for her return within 14 days. Pomerleau argued the petition does not seek to micromanage foreign policy but demands a "bounded, transparent and practical process" involving the Department of Homeland Security and potentially the State Department.
The filing outlines several potential avenues for her return, including:
- Returning her to the U.S. to restore the legal status quo and allow her to pursue proper immigration proceedings.
- Allowing her to continue an application for a T visa, which is granted to victims of human trafficking.
- Pursuing a student visa, though this is complicated by her existing removal order.
At a hearing on Tuesday, the government contended the court lacks jurisdiction because the legal action was filed several hours after Lopez Belloza had already been transferred to Texas en route out of the country. However, they again acknowledged the violation of the judge's order.
A Pattern of Controversial Removals
This case is not isolated. Pomerleau referenced two prior instances in his filing where individuals were deported despite court orders:
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador despite a ruling that should have prevented it. The Trump administration initially resisted returning him but complied after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened.
- Last June, a Guatemalan man identified as O.C.G. was brought back to the U.S. after a judge found his removal from Mexico likely "lacked any semblance of due process."
The government maintains Lopez Belloza's deportation was lawful due to a 2016 removal order for her and her mother, which was upheld on appeal in 2017. Prosecutors argued she could have pursued further legal avenues to halt her removal.
Lopez Belloza, whose family emigrated from Honduras to the U.S. in 2014, is currently staying with grandparents and studying remotely. She is not detained and was recently visiting an aunt in El Salvador.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns described the situation as a "tragic" bureaucratic error. While appreciating the government's admission of fault, he indicated reluctance to hold it in contempt, noting the violation did not seem intentional. He also questioned whether the court retains jurisdiction over the case now she is abroad.
