NEWS: Congressman Casar, Senator Warren, Congressman Auchincloss, Senator Markey Demand That Trump Administration Return Deported Student and Cease Threatening Her Family

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Greg Casar(D-Texas), Senator Elizabeth Warren(D-Massachusetts), Congressman Jake Auchincloss(D-Massachusetts), and Senator Ed Markey(D-Massachusetts) sent a letter demanding the Trump administration allow the return of Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a college student from Austin who was wrongfully deported to Honduras while traveling home for Thanksgiving. The letter also demands that the Administration cease threatening her family.

Lopez Belloza had lived in the United States since she was eight years old. She was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while traveling home to Austin from Babson College, where she is a student. While being deported to Honduras, she was shackled. She has no criminal record.

In recent days, ICE agents have arrived in unmarked vehicles to Lopez Belloza's family home in Austin, attempting to enter the home through the backdoor.

The letter, addressed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, raises concerns that Lopez Belloza was quickly removed from Massachusetts in order to prevent her from accessing her due process rights.

The letter reads: "Your administration claims to be going after the "worst of the worst." Instead, you have decided to target a young woman who was brought to this country at eight years old and is a valuable member of our community. Ms. Lopez Belloza has spent most of her life in a working-class neighborhood in Austin, Texas. She excelled in school and made it, against the odds, into a top-tier university. Your administration decided to deport her in shackles and to evade a federal court order. "

The letter demands that Lopez Belloza be allowed to return home and exercise due process rights. The letter demands an end to the harassment of Lopez Belloza's family. Finally, the letter requests information about the circumstances under which Lopez Belloza was detained and deported.

"Any Lopez Belloza, a 19 year old college student from Austin, was shackled and wrongfully deported. The only crime Any committed was trying to surprise her loving family for Thanksgiving," said Congressman Greg Casar. "Now, the Trump Administration is threatening Any's family because she used her First Amendment right to speak out about her mistreatment. This should send a chill down the spine of every American. Any must be brought home, and the Trump Administration must stop harassing and threatening her family."

A copy of the letter is available here.

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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.