Warren, Casar, Members of Congress Demand Trump Administration Return Wrongfully Deported Babson Student

Warren, Casar, Members of Congress Demand Trump Administration Return Wrongfully Deported Babson Student

Any Lopez Belloza was deported in November in violation of a judge's orders

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) led more than 70 members of Congress in writing to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons, urging them to allow Any Lucía Lopez Belloza to return to the United States after the Trump administration admitted her deportation was a "mistake."

"Any Lopez Belloza should be at her university right now, not in Honduras separated from her community. The Trump administration cannot continue to snatch people off the streets and ship them overseas despite court orders, then refuse to correct what it admits are mistakes," said Senator Warren in a separate statement. "The administration must bring her back and ensure she receives due process as she pursues immigration relief."

Lopez Belloza, a student at Babson College, was detained and deported in violation of a court order while traveling home to Austin to visit her family for Thanksgiving. The Trump administration admitted Lopez Belloza was deported in violation of a judge's orders because an ICE officer failed to inform officials in Texas of the judge's orders. While the administration has acknowledged its "mistake" in court, it has not allowed her to return.

"As a result of your administration's 'mistake,' Ms. Lopez Belloza, who has no criminal history, was handcuffed and forced to sleep on the floor in a detention center before being deported to Honduras in shackles," wrote the lawmakers. "(We) ask that you remedy the harm you have caused this young woman and her family by allowing her to return to the United States to pursue the legal options available to her."

The members of Congress also raised concerns that Lopez Belloza's deportation despite a court order is not an isolated incident.

"We are concerned that this incident is the latest in a pattern of DHS deporting people based on what it admits are mistakes and in violation of court orders - and then failing to promptly rectify those mistakes, despite the life-threatening or life-altering stakes of such deportations," said the lawmakers.

Other signers include: Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass), along with Representatives Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Gilbert Cisneros (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Henry Johnson (D-Ga.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), William Keating (D-Mass.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Sarah McBride (D-Dele.), James McGovern, (D-Mass.), LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Nellie Pou (D-N.J.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Luz Rivas (D-Calif.), Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.).

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