Trump administration says deporting college student trying to surprise family was a 'mistake'

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/16/trump-administration-mistake-college-student-detained

Trump administration says deporting college student trying to surprise family was a ‘mistake’

Any Lucía López Belloza was detained at Boston’s airport in November and flown to Honduras two days later

Guardian staff and agency
Fri 16 Jan 2026 09.04 EST

The Trump administration apologized in court for a “mistake” in the deportation of a Massachusetts college student who was detained trying to fly home to surprise her family in Texas for Thanksgiving.

But the administration still argued that the federal government error should not affect her immigration case.

Any Lucía López Belloza, a 19-year-old freshman at Babson College in Wellesley, 15 miles west of Boston, was detained at the city’s airport on 20 November and flown to Honduras two days later. Her sudden removal came despite an emergency court order on 21 November directing the government to keep her in Massachusetts or elsewhere in the United States for at least 72 hours for legal processes.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers screen international passengers arriving at Dulles International Airport wearing personal protective equipment March 13, 2020 in Dulles, Virginia. In response to the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic CBP officers have begun wearing gloves and masks as they interact with passengers.2B8KHPB U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers screen international passengers arriving at Dulles International Airport wearing personal protective equipment March 13, 2020 in Dulles, Virginia. In response to the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic CBP officers have begun wearing gloves and masks as they interact with passengers.

López Belloza, whose family emigrated from Honduras to the US in 2014 when she was seven, is currently staying with grandparents and studying remotely. She is not detained and was recently visiting an aunt in El Salvador. In early December, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers reportedly turned up at her parents’ home in Austin, Texas, and behaved aggressively towards the family but left without taking further action.

At a federal court hearing on Tuesday of this week in Boston, the government argued the court lacks jurisdiction in the case because lawyers for López Belloza filed their action several hours after she was taken to Texas on the way out of the US in November. But the government also acknowledged it violated the judge’s order.

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