A college freshman's Thanksgiving plans were brutally derailed when a deportation order, made over a decade ago, kicked in unexpectedly. Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, from Boston, was on her way to Texas to surprise her family for the holiday, but instead found herself being detained by immigration officials and ultimately sent back to Honduras - the country she left as a child.
Lopez Belloza's attorney, Todd Pomerleau, claims that she had no knowledge of any deportation order, despite it having been made in 2015. According to Pomerleau, the only record he has found is that her case was closed in 2017, casting doubt on the validity of the order. "They're holding her responsible for something they claim happened a decade ago," he stated, highlighting the government's lack of proof.
A federal judge had previously issued an emergency order to prevent the government from moving Lopez Belloza out of Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours. However, ICE appears to have disregarded this ruling, leading to her deportation. When questioned about violating the court order, ICE did not respond.
Lopez Belloza is now staying with her grandparents in Honduras and has expressed her devastation at having her college dreams shattered. "That was my dream," she said. "I'm losing everything." Her case serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and challenges faced by undocumented immigrants in the United States, and the need for greater clarity and oversight in the deportation process.
In light of this incident, concerns are being raised about the efficacy of the US immigration system and the impact it has on young people like Lopez Belloza, who are caught up in a complex web of laws and regulations that often seem stacked against them.
Lopez Belloza's attorney, Todd Pomerleau, claims that she had no knowledge of any deportation order, despite it having been made in 2015. According to Pomerleau, the only record he has found is that her case was closed in 2017, casting doubt on the validity of the order. "They're holding her responsible for something they claim happened a decade ago," he stated, highlighting the government's lack of proof.
A federal judge had previously issued an emergency order to prevent the government from moving Lopez Belloza out of Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours. However, ICE appears to have disregarded this ruling, leading to her deportation. When questioned about violating the court order, ICE did not respond.
Lopez Belloza is now staying with her grandparents in Honduras and has expressed her devastation at having her college dreams shattered. "That was my dream," she said. "I'm losing everything." Her case serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and challenges faced by undocumented immigrants in the United States, and the need for greater clarity and oversight in the deportation process.
In light of this incident, concerns are being raised about the efficacy of the US immigration system and the impact it has on young people like Lopez Belloza, who are caught up in a complex web of laws and regulations that often seem stacked against them.
This is just heartbreaking - Lucia's story is so tragic. It's crazy how one forgotten deportation order can ruin someone's life 
. I mean, what even is the process for getting a deportation order dropped? It seems like it should be way more straightforward than that. And on top of that, ICE completely disregarded the emergency order - that's just reckless and irresponsible.
. It's not like she had a chance to catch up on all the immigration paperwork or something!
. Young people like Lucia deserve better - they're trying to build their lives in this country, but are being held back by system failures. It's just not fair 
this is just another example of how messed up our immigration system is 
, I mean, who makes a deportation order 10 years ago and then lets it sit for 8 years without notifying the person? 
didn't we used to have some kind of paperwork or notification system in place? 
. I need to see more about how this happened, like who signed that order and when, and what exactly "closed" her case means 
. this isn't just a personal story, it's a symptom of a bigger problem 
. Lucia's deportation order was made 10 years ago, but she had no idea it existed? That's just not adding up. And what about this record of her case being closed in 2017? Sounds like someone's trying to cover their tracks 
. The fact that ICE disregarded the court order is just plain crazy. I mean, who ignores a judge's orders on purpose? This whole thing smells like a setup to me... 
And what's with the 'case was closed' thing? Is that just a cover-up? 
It sounds like there are some serious questions to be asked about how our immigration system works - or rather, doesn't work. I'm not saying Lucia did anything wrong, but it's clear that something went seriously wrong here... 
this is insane! what's the point of having an emergency order if they just ignore it? 
it's like they want to keep Lucia in the dark about her own life... she was already in college, chasing her dreams, and now she has to leave everything behind because of some deportation order that nobody bothered to tell her about. 
2015 doesn't equal today, let alone a decade ago... how do we know what happened back then? it's just so unfair 
Lucia's life was turned upside down by something she had no idea about 
The government should be more careful with these things 
ICE really needs to check their facts before moving forward 
And when someone gets caught up in this mess, it's devastating 
She needs support and help right now 
Not just empty promises of fixing the system 
! I mean, can you imagine having your whole Thanksgiving plans ruined because of some deportation order from years ago? It's not fair to Lucia, especially since she had no idea it was still active. And what's with the government just disregarding the court order? That's like, totally unacceptable 
. We need to make sure these kind of cases don't happen again! 
like, what even is the point of having an immigration system if it can't protect people from arbitrary deportation orders? 
72 hours shouldn't be enough time for them to figure this out 
and make sure everyone is treated fairly 
I mean, isn't it crazy how these orders just kinda... sit there until they magically become valid again? 
Like, what even is the process for correcting this kind of thing?! 
Her case has me super worried about all those other undocumented kids out there who might be going through the same thing. We need to get our immigration system on track ASAP! 
It's like, come on, government! Can't you see how this is affecting people's lives? 
i mean idk if they're actually good but i had them with my lunch yesterday and they were kinda interesting lol anyway this deportation thing is wild how can someone get deported 10 yrs after something happened?? it's like, what even is the process lol did u know that the usa has a bunch of old laws from like the 1800s still on the books? 
. it's like they're playing some kinda cruel game with people's lives... need to do something about this ASAP 
and instead gets detained by immigration officials 
?!?! how can the us government do this to someone who's been here their whole life? 
. i'm so angry about this 
i wish there was more awareness about the deportation process and how it affects people like lucia 
. It's like, what even is the point of having a college education if you're just gonna get torn apart by the system?