Dr. Rasha Alawieh was detained by federal agents in Boston after returning from a trip to Lebanon despite her possession of an H-1B visa.
Will Coen
Staff Writer, The Buckley Beacon
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor at Brown’s medical school who was a resident at Yale’s Waterbury Internal Medicine Program, was detained on March 13 at Boston Logan International Airport by federal agents after returning from Lebanon.
According to federal agents, Alawieh acknowledged that she had attended the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in September 2024, while in Lebanon. Federal agents said they found photos of Nasrallah and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on her phone while she was detained. According to these agents, Alawieh had deleted the photos soon before returning to the U.S.
Alawieh claimed that she was interested in Khamenei for religious and spiritual, not political, reasons. Alawieh said Khamenei is a “religious, spiritual person” whose “teachings are about spirituality and morality.” Despite having a valid H-1B visa, Alawieh was deported to Lebanon soon after being detained.
In statements to the media, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection have both argued that a visa is a privilege and that Alawieh lost this privilege by associating with terrorists.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations claimed that Alawieh was deported illegally, further arguing that the U.S. immigration system is leaning toward becoming “anti-Muslim.” U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin asked federal officials to notify him before deporting Alawieh. The officials said that they did not receive Sorokin’s notice until after Alawieh had been deported.
Alawieh’s cousin Yara Chehab filed a complaint stating that Alawieh was not allowed to access an attorney while being detained. A hearing in Judge Sorokin’s court was scheduled for Monday, March 17. However, after some lawyers representing Chehab withdrew from the case, one of Chehab’s attorneys asked for the hearing to be rescheduled.
Democratic Representative Gabe Amo of Rhode Island said on X that he is “committed to getting answers” from the Department of Homeland Security regarding Alawieh’s deportation. Brown University told CNN that they are “seeking to learn more about what happened.”
On March 17 protesters congregated at the Rhode Island State House calling on Brown faculty and administration to do everything they can to bring Alawieh home.