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The United States government, under the administration of President Donald Trump, stated this Friday that it is "unfeasible" to grant a visa to the university student Any Lucía López Belloza to return to the country, despite a federal judge suggesting this option to correct a "mistake" that led to her deportation to Honduras in violation of an emergency court order.
According to Telemundo 51, the denial was communicated by a lawyer from the Department of Justice in a document filed with the court, in response to the deadline set by federal district judge in Massachusetts, Richard Stearns, who had given until Friday for the Government to clarify how to rectify the case.
According to the cited document, granting her a student visa would be "unviable" because the young woman "does not seem to meet the requirements" to obtain it.
López Belloza, 19 years old and a student at Babson College in Massachusetts, was arrested at Boston Logan Airport on November 20 when she was trying to fly to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving, and was sent back to Honduras two days later.
On November 21, a court issued an emergency injunction directing the Government to keep her in the United States for at least 72 hours, but the deportation occurred nonetheless.
Why the U.S. says it cannot bring her back
The statement from the Department of Justice also dismissed the possibility of her return, arguing that, although the administration describes the incident as an “unintentional violation” of the court order, the student was subject to a final expulsion order and, if she were to return, she would still be subject to detention and expulsion.
The young woman's lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, stated in a statement quoted in the text that they will continue to litigate "until Any is returned to the United States."
In mid-January, the Trump Administration apologized to the court for the "error" that permitted the deportation.
According to cited court documents, the government stated that a deportation agent from ICE mistakenly believed that the order preventing the expulsion no longer applied because López Belloza was no longer in Massachusetts.
The document adds that the officer did not activate a system that alerts other ICE agents when a case is under judicial review and the deportation must be halted.
During that preliminary hearing, Assistant District Attorney Mark Sauter told the judge, "On behalf of the Government, we want to offer our sincere apologies," and stated that the violation was "an unintentional mistake... not a deliberate act of contempt" of the court order.
Judge Stearns then responded that, although "it may not be anyone's fault," she was "the victim," and suggested the possibility of applying for a student visa.
The text notes that it is unclear how the magistrate will proceed now after the Government's rejection of his visa proposal.
It also indicates that López Belloza has stated that he was unaware of a deportation order against him.
According to the citation, an immigration judge ordered the expulsion of him and his mother in 2016, and the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the appeal in 2017.
The young woman emigrated with her family from Honduras to the United States in 2014 when she was a child, and she currently lives with her grandparents and studies remotely, according to the document.
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