Trump administration makes unusual move with rare apology for mistakenly deporting 19-year-old college student

In an era of intensified enforcement and rapid-response deportations under the Trump administration, the case of a 19-year-old college freshman has emerged as a rare instance of federal admission of error. The U.S. government has issued a formal apology to Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a student at Babson College who was mistakenly deported to Honduras while attempting to fly home for the Thanksgiving holiday. The incident began on November 20 at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Lopez Belloza, a freshman who had recently begun her studies on a scholarship, was prepared to travel to Texas to reunite with her parents and two younger sisters. Instead of a family holiday, she found herself at the center of a high-speed immigration removal that her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, describes as a fundamental violation of due process.

A “Beyond the Pale” Transition

The transition from student to deportee happened in a matter of moments. Just before boarding her flight, Lopez Belloza was told there was an issue with her boarding pass. As she headed toward customer service to rectify the error, she was intercepted.

“She was surrounded, placed in handcuffs, and dragged out of the airport,” Pomerleau told CNN. “She had chains around her ankles. Handcuffs on her wrists. Put on a plane and deported to a country she hadn’t been to in like 12 years. It’s beyond the pale.”

Within 48 hours, the teenager was moved from Massachusetts to Texas, and finally to San Pedro Sula, Honduras—a country she had not seen since she was seven years old, when her parents first brought her to the U.S. to seek asylum.

Defying a Judicial Stay

The gravity of the mistake is compounded by the fact that a federal judge had already issued an order specifically barring the U.S. government from removing her from U.S. territory or transferring her outside of Massachusetts. According to federal court documents and her legal team, the deportation proceeded in direct contradiction to this judicial stay.

Pomerleau asserts that his client was never presented with a warrant or a formal removal order during the encounter. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that Lopez Belloza entered the U.S. in 2014 and was ordered removed in 2015, her attorney argues that government databases showed her case was closed in 2017.

“If I had been aware of my 2017 deportation order, I would not have traveled with my valid passport,” Lopez Belloza stated via the Associated Press. “I would have dedicated significant time and effort… to hiring an attorney who could help me resolve my immigration situation.”

A “Tragic” Bureaucratic Failure

From her grandparents’ home in Honduras, Lopez Belloza spoke to the Boston Globe about the loss of her academic momentum. “I have worked so hard to be able to be at Babson my first semester; that was my dream,” she said. Babson College officials described the news as “unsettling” for the campus community, noting that their focus remains on supporting the student’s family.

In a rare moment of contrition during a Tuesday hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter offered an official olive branch. “On behalf of the government, we want to sincerely apologize,” Sauter said, characterizing the deportation as an “inadvertent mistake by one individual” rather than a willful defiance of a court order.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns labeled the event a “tragic” bureaucratic failure. While he noted it might not be the result of a single person’s malice, he emphasized that Lopez Belloza was the undeniable victim of the system’s breakdown.

The legal focus now shifts to a “return to sender” effort. Pomerleau is petitioning the court to require the U.S. government to facilitate her immediate return to the country, though Judge Stearns indicated that the standard path forward would involve her re-entering after securing a formal student visa.