A Clinton-appointed judge slammed ICE for ignoring a 72-hour stay, demanded a visa fix within three weeks, and warned the White House it could be held in contempt if it refuses to bring the teenager back.
The 72-Hour Order ICE Missed
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns set a 21-day clock for the Trump administration to decide: issue a student visa to Any Lucia Lopez Belloza or face a possible contempt order for shipping the 19-year-old to Honduras in defiance of a court stay.
The sequence that stunned the Boston courtroom:
- Nov 20: Lopez Belloza, a Babson College freshman, is arrested at Logan Airport while trying to fly to Texas for Thanksgiving.
- Nov 21: Her lawyer obtains a 72-hour injunction barring deportation or transfer out of Massachusetts.
- Nov 22: ICE puts her on a flight to Honduras anyway, insisting the order no longer applied once she crossed state lines.
On Friday the government’s own lawyer admitted the move was a “mistake” by an ICE officer who failed to flag the injunction in the agency’s database, Reuters reports.
Why the Judge Calls It a “Preventable” Violation
Stearns, appointed by President Clinton, ruled he no longer has jurisdiction over Lopez Belloza’s broader immigration case because she was physically in Texas when the suit was filed. Yet he retained authority to sanction the government for “a tragic (and preventable) mistake.”
His ultimatum: either the State Department issues an F-1 student visa so she can resume classes at Babson, or federal agencies must charter a flight to bring her back—under threat of contempt citations for top officials.
Human Impact: From Boston Classroom to Honduran Grandparents’ Home
Brought to the U.S. at age 8 when her mother sought asylum, Lopez Belloza had no idea a final removal order existed, her attorneys say. She earned a scholarship to Babson—ranked among the top entrepreneurship colleges globally—only to spend her first semester’s Thanksgiving break stranded with grandparents she barely knows.
Her lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, told the court the ruling gives leverage to “negotiate her swift return” and resume a college career already disrupted by bureaucratic error.
Precedent and Pressure
The case lands as immigrant-rights groups catalog a spike in rushed removals nationwide. Advocates note that when courts issue stays, even 72-hour ones, agencies must honor them regardless of a detainee’s location; ignoring them erodes judicial authority and due-process norms.
If the administration complies with Stearns’s visa directive, it would mark the second high-profile reversal in a month where courts forced executive branch action on individual deportations—signaling heightened judicial scrutiny of ICE’s post-election acceleration of removals.
What Happens Next
- Day 1–21: Justice and State Departments must pick one path—issue the visa or schedule repatriation—and file notice with the court.
- Contempt sword: Failure to act could trigger sanctions, potentially exposing Cabinet-level officials to fines or coercive orders.
- Babson waiting: College officials confirmed her spot remains open for spring classes; tuition is prepaid, and her dorm room held.
The 19-year-old, now taking online lessons from Tegucigalpa, told supporters she simply wants to “go back to studying marketing and finish what I started.”
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