Overview
- U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns ruled the court lost jurisdiction once Any Lucia Lopez Belloza declined a government-arranged flight back to the United States.
- Lopez Belloza was deported to Honduras in November despite a 72-hour stay, and federal prosecutors later admitted the mistake and apologized in court.
- Stearns said any civil contempt ended when the government complied with his order to facilitate her return and found no evidence officials concealed her location.
- The Department of Homeland Security said she failed to appear for the flight, while her lawyer argued the plan was a trap that would route her to Texas for possible re-detention.
- She remains in Honduras studying remotely as the appeal moves forward.