NEWS: Casar Leads Members of Congress Demanding Return of Any Lopez Belloza

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) led 80 members of Congress demanding that Any Lucía Lopez Belloza be allowed to return to the United States after the Trump administration admitted her deportation was a "mistake."

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. According to the Trump administration, she was deported despite a judge's orders because an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer failed to inform officials in Texas of the judge's orders. The Trump Administration acknowledged their "mistake" in court but 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," the members of Congress write. "We appreciate your acknowledgment of your error and 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 raise concerns that Lopez Belloza being deported despite a court order is no 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.

The letter, addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons, can be found here.

It is signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Edward J. Markey (MA). It is also signed by U.S. Representatives Amo, Gabe (RI-01); Ansari, Yassamin (AZ-03); Auchincloss, Jake (MA-04); Balint, Becca (VT); Barragán, Nanette (CA-44); Brown, Shontel (OH-11); Carbajal, Salud (CA-24); Carson, André (IN-07); Castro, Joaquin (TX-20); Chu, Judy (CA-28); Cisneros, Gilbert (CA-31); Clarke, Yvette (NY-09); Crockett, Jasmine (TX-30); DeGette, Diana (CO-01); DeSaulnier, Mark (CA-10); Dexter, Maxine (OR-03); Doggett, Lloyd (TX-37); Escobar, Veronica (TX-16); Espaillat, Adriano (NY-13); Fletcher, Lizzie (TX-07); Frost, Maxwell (FL-10); Garamendi, John (CA-08); García, Jesús "Chuy" (IL-04); Garcia, Robert (CA-42); Garcia, Sylvia (TX-29); Goldman, Daniel (NY-10); Gomez, Jimmy (CA-34); Gonzalez, Vicente (TX-34); Grijalva, Adelita (AZ-07); Hayes, Jahana (CT-05); Horsford, Steven (NV-04); Hoyle, Val (OR-04); Jackson, Jonathan (IL-01); Jayapal, Pramila (WA-07); Johnson, Henry (GA-04); Johnson, Julie (TX-32); Kamlager-Dove, Sydney (CA-37); Keating, William (MA-09); Khanna, Ro (CA-17); Lee, Summer (PA-12); Lieu, Ted (CA-36); Lynch, Stephen (MA-08); McBride, Sarah (DE); McGovern, James (MA-02); McIver, LaMonica (NJ-10); Menendez, Robert (NJ-08); Min, Dave (CA-47); Moore, Gwen (WI-04); Moulton, Seth (MA-06); Neal, Richard (MA-01); Norton, Eleanor (DC); Pocan, Mark (WI-02); Pou, Nellie (NJ-09); Pressley, Ayanna (MA-07); Ramirez, Delia (IL-03); Randall, Emily (WA-06); Rivas, Luz (CA-29); Ruiz, Raul (CA-25); Salinas, Andrea (OR-06); Sánchez, Linda (CA-38); Scanlon, Mary Gay (PA-05); Schakowsky, Janice (IL-09); Simon, Lateefah (CA-12); Smith, Adam (WA-09); Stansbury, Melanie (NM-01); Suozzi, Thomas (NY-03); Thanedar, Shri (MI-13); Tlaib, Rashida (MI-12); Tokuda, Jill (HI-02); Tonko, Paul (NY-20); Torres, Ritchie (NY-15); Trahan, Lori (MA-03); Vargas, Juan (CA-52); Vasquez, Gabe (NM-02); Veasey, Marc (TX-33); Velázquez, Nydia (NY-07); and Watson Coleman, Bonnie (NJ-12).

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas's 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 119th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.