Babson College supports student deported to Honduras

CONCORD, New Hampshire — Babson College has asked faculty and staff to provide “academic and community support” to a student who was deported to Honduras while trying to return home to visit family for Thanksgiving.

Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, was arrested at Boston’s Logan International Airport on Nov. 20 while trying to board a flight to surprise her family in Texas. She was sent to Honduras two days later despite a court order barring the government from moving her outside of Massachusetts or the United States, according to her lawyer.

Lopez Belloza, whose family emigrated from Honduras when she was 7, now lives with her grandparents. The college’s Dean of Campus Life, Caitlin Capozzi, informed faculty and staff Tuesday of Lopez Belloza’s detention.

“Our ability to share details is limited by law, but please know that our goal remains to support the student and their family, as well as the well-being of our community,” the dean wrote in a message released Monday. “Impacted faculty and staff have been notified so that they can provide appropriate academic and community support in the student’s absence.” »

Lopez Belloza, a freshman, studies business at Babson, which has 2,800 undergraduates on its campus in Wellesley, just west of Boston.

Capozzi said the college is following protocols and staying informed, and provided links to resources for students. A message posted online by college President Stephen Spinelli said the college would not comment further for legal and privacy reasons.

“We understand that this news may seem unsettling, especially for our students, faculty and staff who may already be facing uncertainty,” he wrote.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an immigration judge ordered Lopez Belloza’s deportation in 2015. When asked about the emergency order barring his deportation, the Department of Homeland Security provided an earlier statement confirming Lopez Belloza’s detention, but not addressing the court order.

Todd Pomerleau, Lopez Belloza’s lawyer, said he found no record of her original deportation order.