A Sudden Arrest at the Airport
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old college freshman, says she was living her “American Dream” before immigration officers detained her at Boston Logan International Airport the week before Thanksgiving. She had planned to fly to Texas to surprise her parents for the holidays. Instead, she was handcuffed, questioned, and deported to Honduras—despite a federal judge’s order blocking her removal.
“I burst into tears because I couldn’t believe it,” she told ABC News from Honduras. “I had to spend the night sleeping on the floor.”
Judge Ordered Her Not to Be Removed
Court documents show that a judge ordered federal authorities not to deport or transfer Lopez Belloza outside Massachusetts within hours of her detainment. Yet she was flown to a Texas detention center that same night and deported the next day.
“How does it feel to know you were deported despite a judge saying you should not be?” ABC News asked.
“It feels unfair,” she said. “Why did everything happen so fast, within three days?”
DHS Cites Old Removal Order
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Lopez Belloza had a 2015 removal order issued when she was a child, claiming she “illegally stayed in the country since.” Lopez Belloza said she had no idea such an order existed.
DHS pointed to a voluntary return program offering migrants a free flight home and a $1,000 stipend—an option she was never told about during her arrest.
A Family Caught Off Guard
Lopez Belloza had hoped to surprise her parents in Texas with a holiday visit. Instead, she was deported to Honduras, a country she has not seen since arriving in the U.S. at age 8.
“They didn’t know I was at the airport,” she said. “I thought the surprise would be me coming home—not me getting arrested.”
Her family, she said, believes the deportation is deeply unjust, noting she has no criminal record and has been focused entirely on her education.
Dreams Interrupted
The freshman said she had earned strong financial aid and secured a spot at a college that believed in her.
“My dream was to be in college and be one of the first in my family to do it,” she said. “It felt like—wow—I’m doing this.”
Part of a Larger Crackdown
Her case comes as the Trump administration carries out an aggressive immigration enforcement effort that has already removed more than half a million migrants, with another 1.6 million choosing to self-deport.
Message to the President
Asked what she would say to President Donald Trump, Lopez Belloza responded:
“Why is he getting people who are living in the United States working day and night? People like me, who are in college, doing their dreams, having an education?”
For more on the impact of Trump’s administration immigration crackdown, stay tuned to Que Onda Magazine.