Are there public court records for immigration proceedings involving Lucia Lopez Belloza?
Executive summary
Public reporting and court dockets show there are federal court filings and media-cited court documents connected to Any Lucía López Belloza’s immigration case, including a habeas petition filed in U.S. District Court (Lopez Belloza v. Hyde, No. 1:25‑cv‑13499) and multiple news outlets citing emergency orders and removal history [1] [2] [3]. Journalists and the student’s attorney say government databases lack a clear Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) removal order record, while ICE and DHS say an immigration judge ordered removal in 2015 [4] [5] [6].
1. What public court records exist and where reporters found them
Federal filings are publicly referenced: a habeas petition, Lopez Belloza v. Hyde (D. Mass., No. 1:25‑cv‑13499), appears in court dockets and a document summary noting the petition, service deadlines, and a judge’s order [1]. News outlets report that reporters obtained “court documents” showing a federal judge issued an emergency order barring removal or transfer for at least 72 hours after López Belloza’s detention [2] [3]. Those same outlets cite the federal district court activity and filings as the basis for reporting [7] [8].
2. Conflicting records: EOIR database vs. government statements
Multiple news stories record a dispute over whether EOIR or other government case databases contain her original removal order. López Belloza’s attorney says he could not find a typical EOIR removal-order record and that the government told the student she had a 2015 removal order; ICE and DHS state an immigration judge ordered her removed in 2015 [4] [5] [6]. In short: reporters found federal court filings and emergency orders, while the usual immigration-court database record is reported by the attorney as missing, and DHS/ICE maintain a 2015 removal order exists [4] [5].
3. What the emergency federal-court order covered
Media outlets cite a federal judge’s emergency order that — according to the filings journalists reviewed — prohibited the government from removing López Belloza from the United States or transferring her outside Massachusetts for at least 72 hours after her arrest. Those emergency orders were cited in reporting as documents obtained by outlets such as The Guardian and ABC News [3] [2]. Available sources do not detail the full text of the order beyond that emergency restriction [3] [2].
4. Timeline reported by media and the government’s position
Reporting establishes this timeline: detention at Boston Logan on Nov. 20, filing of federal habeas litigation and an emergency order within hours or days, and removal to Honduras within roughly 48 hours despite the order, according to the attorney and multiple outlets [8] [7] [3]. DHS/ICE say an immigration judge ordered removal in 2015 and that she “illegally stayed in the country since,” while the attorney disputes whether a public EOIR removal record is available [6] [4].
5. How to locate public records yourself — and the limits reporters hit
The public sources journalists cite are: federal district court dockets for Lopez Belloza v. Hyde (which can be searched through the D. Mass. PACER system or public docket summaries) and news outlets’ copies or descriptions of emergency orders and filings [1] [2]. Reporters note a gap: the usual EOIR/immigration‑court removal order that would explain the 2015 action was not found by the attorney in government databases, per press accounts [4]. Available sources do not mention whether EOIR later updated its database or whether redactions or sealed records account for any absence (not found in current reporting).
6. Competing narratives and implications for public record reliability
Two competing narratives appear in the record: the government’s factual claim that a 2015 immigration-judge removal order exists (as stated by ICE/DHS to the press) versus the attorney’s and some reporters’ claim that EOIR publicly searchable records do not show that order [5] [4]. The existence of a contemporaneous federal habeas filing and emergency order strengthens the case that public federal-court records exist [1] [2]. The discrepancy about EOIR records raises concerns about transparency, record-keeping and how third parties verify removal orders; outlets repeatedly flag that gap [4] [5].
7. Bottom line for your original query — are there public court records?
Yes: federal court filings linked to Lopez Belloza — including a habeas petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and cited emergency orders — are publicly reported and appear in court dockets [1] [2]. However, journalists and the student’s attorney report that the usual EOIR immigration-court removal-order record was not publicly available in government databases at the time of reporting, while DHS/ICE say a 2015 removal order was issued [4] [5]. If you need the primary documents, check the D. Mass. docket (Lopez Belloza v. Hyde, No. 1:25‑cv‑13499) and the news outlets that published copies or descriptions of the emergency order [1] [2].