College Freshman Deported to Honduras Ahead of Thanksgiving

CONCORD, N.H. — A 19-year-old college freshman, Lucia López-Belloza, attempted to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving but ended up being deported to Honduras, violating a court order, as reported by her attorney.

López-Belloza completed security checks at Boston Logan International Airport on November 20 when she was informed there was an issue with her boarding pass. Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, mentioned that immigration officials detained her shortly after and she was sent to Texas before being deported to Honduras, where she had originally left the country at age 7.

Pomerleau conveyed the emotional toll on López-Belloza, stating, “She is completely heartbroken. Her college dreams were literally shattered.”

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an immigration judge had ordered her deportation in 2015. However, Pomerleau claimed that López-Belloza was unaware of this order and noted that records only indicated her case was closed in 2017.

“They are holding her responsible for something that she was completely unaware of,” the attorney stated, adding that there’s a lack of evidence for the claims against her.

Just a day after her arrest, a federal judge issued an emergency order preventing the government from removing her from Massachusetts or the country for at least 72 hours. As of Friday, ICE had not replied to inquiries regarding this situation, and Babson College also did not respond to requests for comments.

López-Belloza, now in Honduras with her grandparents, had been excited to share her experiences from her first semester studying business with her family. “That was my dream,” she reflected, feeling as though she lost everything.