US Deports Brown University Doctor
A Lebanese-born doctor and university assistant at Brown University has been deported from the United States. This decision came after US authorities found photos of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s supreme leader on her phone, according to a CNN source.
The images, which had been deleted, were uncovered during security checks at an airport upon her return to the US following a visit to Lebanon. Rasha Alawieh, 34, admitted to attending the funeral of the former Hezbollah leader, killed by Israeli airstrikes, on February 23.
When questioned about deleting the photos before boarding her flight back to the US, Dr. Alawieh explained she didn’t want to give authorities the impression that she supported Hezbollah or the Ayatollah politically or militarily, as reported in court documents filed by WCVB.
“If you were to listen to one of his sermons, you’d understand what I mean. He is a religious, spiritual person, as I have said, and he is greatly valued. His teachings are about spirituality and morality,” she reportedly told federal agents.
Legal Steps to Challenge Deportation
“Our client is in Lebanon, and we will not stop fighting to bring her back to the US to see her patients. We will ensure the government respects the rule of law,” stated Stephanie Marzouk, an attorney representing Alawieh’s family in a lawsuit against the deportation.
Alawieh referred to Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last September, as a highly respected religious leader. She confessed that she follows his religious and spiritual techniques but not his politics, as noted by the source.
She acknowledged to immigration officers that Hezbollah is recognized as a terrorist organization. This group, widely supported among Shiite Muslims in the Middle East, is classified as a terrorist organization by the US and other Western countries.
US Homeland Security Statement
“Last month, Rasha Alawieh traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah – a brutal terrorist leader of Hezbollah, a group responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans over four decades of terror acts,” declared a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.
“A visa is a privilege, not a right – glorifying and supporting terrorists that kill Americans is grounds for visa refusal,” they added.
Conditions for Entry to the US
In a separate statement, Customs and Border Protection emphasized that foreigners traveling to the US with a visa do not have guaranteed entry. Border agents have the right to decide who can enter the country based on security checks.
“Foreigners advocating extremist ideologies or carrying terrorist propaganda cannot be admitted to the US,” CBP spokesperson Hilton Beckham told CNN.
University and Legal Proceedings
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, representing the Trump administration in court, declined to comment.
Alawieh’s expulsion occurs amid efforts by the Republican President Donald Trump’s administration to drastically restrict border crossings and expedite the arrests of illegal immigrants. Just a week prior, US authorities detained Columbia University graduate and pro-Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, whose deportation was suspended by a judge.
A Lebanese citizen residing in Rhode Island, Alawieh received an H-1B visa last year to work in the Nephrology Department at the Brown University medical school, after studying at three US universities since 2018, according to the federal complaint.
In February, Alawieh went to Lebanon for what she believed would be a brief visit, but her departure was delayed pending documents from the US Consulate in Beirut, as outlined in court files.
These documents were approved on March 11, but when Alawieh arrived at the airport two days later, she was immediately detained and informed she would be sent back to Lebanon the next day, according to the complaint.
In a statement on Monday, a Brown University spokesperson said the Ivy League institution will review the circumstances surrounding the doctor’s deportation.
“We are trying to learn more about what happened, but need to be cautious about publicly sharing information about someone’s personal circumstances,” Brown University’s spokesperson, Brian Clark, told CNN.
The university sent an email on Sunday titled “Travel Guidance and Resources for the International Community.”
“As a precaution, we encourage international students, staff, faculty, and scholars—including visa holders and US permanent residents (or ‘green card’ holders)—to consider canceling or postponing travel outside the United States until more information is available from the State Department,” the guide stated.
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