A federal judge is demanding the Trump administration explain why a Brown University assistant professor and doctor was reportedly deported over the weekend to Lebanon in defiance of a court order.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, who according to court documents is a citizen of Lebanon and holds an H-1B visa, was detained last week upon her arrival at a Boston airport. In an order on Friday evening in response to a petition from Alawieh's cousin, Yara Chehab, federal Judge Leo T. Sorokin mandated 48 hours' notice before Alawieh could be deported.
But Alawieh was nonetheless placed on a flight to Paris, where she was detained as of Saturday. The judge is now demanding answers.
"The government shall respond to these serious allegations with a legal and factual response setting forth its version of events," Sorokin, who was appointed by President Obama, wrote in a Sunday order.
The judge said his order mandating Alawieh not be moved from Massachusetts without 48 hours' notice followed "common practice in this district as it has been for years." Sorokin added that there was reason to believe U.S. Customs and Border Protection had willfully disobeyed his previous order.
The Trump administration said on Monday that Alawieh traveled to Beirut to attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. "Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah. A visa is a privilege not a right—glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied. This is commonsense security," said Ththe Department of Homeland Security in a publication on X.
Last month, Rasha Alawieh traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah— a brutal terrorist who led Hezbollah, responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade terror spree. Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 17, 2025
The administration also denied allegations that it "willfully disobeyed" an order halting the deportation, saying her flight had "already departed the united States" by the time the judge's order
The 34-year-old Brown University physician was living in Rhode Island before her deportation. She had been approved for an H-1B visa last year to work in the Division of Nephrology at Brown University's medical school— after studying at three U.S. universities since 2018— the federal complaint states.
Alawieh in February went to Lebanon for what she thought would be a short visit but was delayed in returning while trying to get paperwork from the U.S. Consulate in Beirut, the court document says.
Clare Saunders, a member of the legal team representing Alawieh's cousin, said in an affidavit that she went to the airport Friday and notified Customs and Border Protection officials there— before the flight to Paris was scheduled to depart— that there was a court order barring the doctor's expulsion. She said that the officers took no action and gave her no information until after the plane had taken off.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations believes Alawieh was "wrongly deported.".
"Deporting lawful immigrants like Dr. Alawieh without any basis undermines the rule of law and reinforces suspicion that our immigration system is turning into an anti-Muslim, white supremacist institution that seeks to expel and turn away as many Muslism and people of color as possible," CAIR said Sunday in a statement.
Brown University also sent an email Sunday titled, "Travel guidance and resources for the international community."
"Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage international students, staff, faculty and scholars— including U.S. visa holders and permanent residents (or 'green card holders')— to consider postponing or delaying personal travel outside the United States until more information is available from the U.S. Department of State," the guidance reads.
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