(Photo courtesy of Belloza’s family) “Amy Lucia Lopez Belloza at her high school graduation”
Olivia O’Sullivan
Connector Staff
Amy Lucia Lopez Belloza was at Boston Logan International Airport on November 20 when she was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The 19-year-old student was planning to surprise her family in Houston, Texas, with a visit for Thanksgiving.
After passing through security, Lopez Belloza was told that there was an issue with her boarding pass and was directed to “customer service” when she was intercepted by federal immigration officers.
Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told CNN that she was then “surrounded, (placed) in handcuffs, and dragged out of the airport.”
On November 22, a federal judge ordered an emergency stay, prohibiting the government from removing Lopez Belloza from the United States or transferring her out of Massachusetts for 72 hours.
Her attorney described the order as a “freeze,” meaning that any federal action should be paused while her case is reviewed. ICE transferred Lopez Belloza out of the United States that same evening.
Pomerlau 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 at in like 12 years. It’s beyond the pale.” Many argue that ICE directly violated the federal court order, eroding trust in systems of checks and balances.
When asked about the constitutional implications of this potential violation, Professor John Cluverius, director of survey research for UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion, noted, “The biggest concern is the ability of any law enforcement agency to fundamentally change the facts of any case. The agencies retain a lot of power in what happens to these people.”
He explained that courts are necessary to hold law enforcement accountable, stating, “I am very worried, overall, about the ability of immigration enforcement to essentially act without checks from the legislature and without checks from the courts, which are supposed to be a check on how they are behaving within the confines of the Constitution. I think that all of these add up to very serious concerns about what the effective rights of noncitizens are in the country at this time.”
Lopez Belloza’s Fifth Amendment right to due process has been brought into question. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that she had a fair trial and hearing, while Pomerlau denies this claim.
Moreover, the DHS claims that an immigration judge ordered her to be deported in 2015. Pomerleau says that she had no knowledge of a deportation order and that records indicate that her case was closed in 2017.
Lopez Belloza, who emigrated from Honduras with her family as a child, is currently staying with her grandparents, according to The Boston Globe.
She was accepted to Babson College on a scholarship to study business in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Pomerleau commented, “She’s absolutely heartbroken… Her college dream has just been shattered.” Lopez Belloza told The Boston Globe, “I’m losing everything.”
Babson’s leadership has released community messages urging faculty to provide academic and community support in the student’s absence, with an emphasis on aiding her and her family. Babson is limited in its communications due to law and privacy restrictions.
