Overview
- In a filing on Friday, attorney Todd Pomerleau asked the court to require the government to present within 14 days a concrete plan to restore Any Lucia Lopez Belloza’s status or return her to the United States.
- The proposed pathways include a limited return to reestablish the status quo, continuation of her pending T visa case, or a student visa that could be complicated by a final removal order, with coordination across DHS and possibly the State Department.
- Government lawyers argue the court lacks jurisdiction because her legal action was filed after she had left the country and maintain the removal was lawful under a 2016 immigration judge order and a 2017 BIA dismissal.
- U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns called the violation a tragic bureaucratic mistake, signaled reluctance to hold the government in contempt, and is weighing jurisdiction alongside practicable remedies.
- Prosecutors admitted they violated the judge’s 72-hour stay; Lopez Belloza remains in Honduras with relatives, studying remotely and not in detention.