Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Federal prosecutor apologizes for Babson student’s deportation in violation of court order
The 19-year-old was attempting to fly to Texas to surprise family for Thanksgiving. She was swiftly deported instead.
The federal government admitted in court Tuesday that it had made a mistake in deporting a Babson College student to Honduras in November.
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, was attempting to fly back to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving when she was detained by immigration authorities at Logan Airport on Nov. 20. She was taken to an ICE facility in Burlington, then flown to a detention facility in Texas.
Not knowing where his client was, Lopez Belloza’s lawyer filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts challenging her detention and requesting that a judge order her not to be removed from the U.S. for a period of at least 72 hours. The order was granted on Nov. 21, but Lopez Belloza was deported to Honduras the next day.
Advertisement:
In federal court in Boston, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter apologized on behalf of the federal government for deporting Lopez Belloza in violation of the court order, according to The Boston Globe.
“I want to sincerely apologize,” Sauter said. “The government regrets that violation and acknowledges that violation.”
Sauter chalked up the mistake to an ICE agent misreading the court order. The agent believed that the order did not apply because Lopez Belloza was already in another state, Sauter said, per the Globe. The agent did not properly flag the order because of this. The agent has since been “counseled” about the mistake, Sauter said.
Advertisement:
Richard Stearns, the judge presiding over the proceedings, said that this was a “tragic case of bureaucracy going wrong.”
Lopez Belloza is currently staying with grandparents in Honduras, taking classes remotely and applying for a visa to return to the U.S. Stearns did not issue an immediate ruling but pressed government lawyers to find a way to return Lopez Belloza.
“We all recognize a mistake was made,” Stearns said, according to Reuters. “She’s a very sympathetic person, and there should be some means to addressing this.”
Stearns suggested granting Lopez Belloza a student visa.
Lopez Belloza’s lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, filed a motion to hold federal officials in contempt of court.
“I’ve never seen this before,” he reportedly said. “The rule of law has to matter.”
Stearns said that he did not believe that a contempt finding would be appropriate.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com