Babson College Student’s Deportation Raises Questions About Due Process and ICE Transparency
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A Babson College freshman was deported to Honduras just days after a court issued an order to halt her removal, sparking concerns about due process and the challenges faced by individuals navigating the U.S. immigration system. Lucía López Belloza, 19, was detained at Boston Logan Airport on November 20th and flown to Honduras two days later, despite a court order issued on November 21st requiring her to remain in Massachusetts.
the case highlights the complexities of long-standing deportation orders and the difficulties individuals, especially those who entered the country as children, face in understanding and challenging those orders.
Initial Detention and Court Order
According to a response filed Wednesday by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter,the Boston judge who issued the order lacked jurisdiction as López Belloza was already in Texas,preparing for departure from the country,when the order was issued. However, López Belloza’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, argues that his client was unaware of the prior deportation order and lacked the resources to effectively challenge it.He further contends that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actively obstructed efforts to locate her after her detention.
Sauter maintained that ICE did not conceal López Belloza’s location, stating that she was able to contact her family on November 20th and was informed of where to file a petition.He asserted that her transfer to Texas was solely to facilitate her removal, not to obscure her whereabouts.
Challenges in Locating López Belloza
Pomerleau disputes this account, stating that after the initial phone call, ICE provided no viable means of contact. He described a frustrating search,noting that an ICE database showing her presence in Massachusetts on November 20th contained no updated details the following day. Calls to the local ICE office reportedly went unanswered or where terminated after an automated message played. “We literally have to guess not only where our client is, but why they are holding her, since they are not giving us any information,” Pomerleau said in a statement Friday.
López Belloza arrived in the united States in 2014 at the age of eight and received a deportation order several years later. Her lawyer emphasizes that the order was issued “without her personal knowledge.” The government asserts that a judge ordered the deportation of López Belloza and her mother in March 2016, and that the Board of Immigration Appeals subsequently dismissed an appeal in February 2017. Sauter indicated that López Belloza could have pursued further appeals to the Fifth Circuit, filed a motion for reconsideration, or requested a stay of removal from ICE.
A childhood Order, Unseen Consequences
Pomerleau argues that these options were inaccessible to López Belloza, who was a child at the time and unaware of her legal rights. He claims another lawyer previously advised her parents “not to worry about it,” leaving her “fully blindfolded” to the potential consequences.”She had all these ways to earn, but she lived her life completely blindfolded,” he stated.
The court has granted Pomerleau until December 11th to submit a formal response. Despite the trauma of her deportation, López Belloza is reportedly working with Babson College to complete her final exams remotely and finish her freshman year. “She is simply an extraordinary young woman,” Pomerleau said, “and we will ensure that she continues to have a bright future.”
This case occurs amidst heightened scrutiny of ICE practices. on friday, federal immigration authorities announced the arrest of approximately 200 immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally during raids at two cannabis cultivation sites in california. – Michael Owen Baker.
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