Massachusetts college student deported to Honduras despite court order to remain in state

Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Holly Ramer at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article.

A 19-year-old Massachusetts college student was deported to Honduras while traveling home for Thanksgiving, despite a court order to keep her in the state, sparking a legal battle over a decade-old removal order issued when she was a child.

Some key facts:

• Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a freshman at Babson College, was detained at Boston’s airport on Nov. 20 while trying to visit family for Thanksgiving.

• She was deported to Honduras two days later, despite a court order issued on Nov. 21 requiring her to remain in Massachusetts.

• The government attorney argued the Boston judge lacked jurisdiction because Lopez Belloza was already in Texas when the order was issued.

• Lopez Belloza came to the U.S. in 2014 at age 8 and received a removal order in March 2016 when she was approximately 10 years old.

• Her attorney argues she never knew about the longstanding removal order and had no knowledge of how to challenge it.

• The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed an appeal in February 2017, but the government says she could have pursued additional legal options.

• Her lawyer claims U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made it nearly impossible to locate her during the deportation process, with databases showing no information and phone calls going unanswered.

• Lopez Belloza is now staying with her grandparents in Honduras and working with Babson College to complete her freshman year final exams remotely.

READ MORE: College student deported during Thanksgiving trip could’ve fought removal as a kid, U.S. says