Court orders Trump administration to help deported students return

US Court Orders Administration to Return Deported Student

A US District Judge has ordered the administration of President Donald Trump to facilitate the return of Babson College student Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, who was wrongfully deported last year. The court’s ruling, issued on Tuesday, requires the government to take steps to bring Lopez Belloza back within two weeks.

Lopez Belloza, 19, was arrested at Boston’s Logan airport on November 20 by immigration agents while attempting to board a flight home for Thanksgiving. She had been preparing to surprise her family in Texas. The college freshman claimed she was denied access to a lawyer after initial detention and was held in a holding room with other women for two nights before being deported.

A court order, obtained by Lopez Belloza’s lawyers, barred her removal from Massachusetts for 72 hours. However, her deportation violated this order. She has remained in Honduras since November 22.

The Trump administration apologized for the error in Lopez Belloza’s case, acknowledging a mistake was made. The government claims that one ICE agent made the error and not an act of judicial defiance. However, they have also argued that Lopez Belloza was subject to a removal order before her arrest and should not be returned to the US.

Lopez Belloza was brought to the US from Honduras at age eight and had previously been ordered to be deported with her mother in 2016. She claims she had no knowledge of any deportation order and had been assured by previous legal representation that there was none.

The court’s ruling frames the order as an opportunity to correct a “mistake” and notes that the government must take steps to make amends. The judge did not rule out holding the government in contempt if it fails to comply with the order.

Source: Al Jazeera