College student deported when flying home for Thanksgiving, despite court order | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

A college freshman who tried to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family on Thanksgiving was deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her lawyer.

Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, went through security at Boston Logan international airport on Nov. 20 and was told there was a problem with her boarding pass, attorney Todd Pomerleau said. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and deported within two days to Texas and then to Honduras, which he left at the age of seven.

“He is absolutely heartbroken,” Pomerleau said. “His university dream was shattered.”

An immigration judge ordered Lopez Belloza deported in 2015, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But Pomerleau said he was unaware of any deportation order, and the only records he found showed the case was closed in 2017.

“They hold him responsible for an incident that they claim took place ten years ago, of which he was completely unaware and for which he has not produced any evidence,” the lawyer said.

The day after Lopez Belloza’s arrest, a federal judge issued an emergency order prohibiting the government from taking him out of Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours. ICE did not respond to an email from The Associated Press on Friday seeking comment on the violation of that order. Babson College also did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Lopez Belloza, who stays with his grandparents in Honduras, said He was looking forward to telling his parents and younger sisters about his first semester studying business at the Boston Globe.

“This was my dream,” he said. “I’m losing everything.”