An attorney for Any López Belloza, the student who was deported while flying back to Austin for Thanksgiving, said the federal government admitted it violated a court order when it deported her to Honduras.
López Belloza, a Austin-raised student at Babson College outside of Boston, was detained after trying to fly home to Austin before Thanksgiving.
Attorneys for the Trump administration this week said she had previously been ordered to leave the country, but that agents should not have started the deportation process. A federal judge blocked immigration authorities from doing so while she was being held in Boston.
Despite that order, she was flown to Texas the next day and deported to Honduras. Attorneys for Immigration and Customs Enforcement called that a "mistake" on Tuesday.
News of ICE's apology was first reported by The Associated Press. KUT reached out to ICE for further comment on the case but has not yet heard back.
López Belloza's attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said the admission of fault in court came as a surprise and he has filed motions to bring López Belloza back to the U.S.
"I think when the government's apologizing the way it is, which is rare these days, that I'm going to assume it's sincere," he said. "And I know multiple ways that this can get done quickly — because there's ways it can get done slowly. I want the quick approach."
Since López Belloza's deportation, Pomerleau said he's filed paperwork to get both her and her parents permanent residency. His motion filed Friday morning laid out a handful of options for her to come back home. A federal judge in Boston will weigh those options and make a decision on next steps, Pomerleau said.
Lopez Belloza told CNN Thursday that she wants to get back to see her family in Texas and then head back to Boston, where she is studying business.
"I accept their apologies, and I hope that, based on this apology, I'm able to return back to my studies and also to be home with my parents," she said.
López Belloza called the ordeal "traumatizing" and said she hopes that she can get back "as soon as possible."
López Belloza and her mother fled Honduras when she was 7 and she grew up in Austin. ICE previously told KUT that López Belloza was given a deportation order was issued in 2015 and that she was given "full due process." Pomerleau said he found no record of an active deportation order after she was detained in November.
Pomerleau said this week's admission "goes a long way" toward restoring trust and that he hopes to get a ruling from the judge within the next few weeks.
"I'm going to recognize it for what it is. It's an act of contrition, and I'm going to assume good faith," he said. "Because before that apology, I wasn't assuming good faith."
