Rasha Alawieh, the Lebanese doctor and an assistant professor at Brown University’s medical school, who was deported by the Donald Trump administration told the officials that she had religious reasons for which she attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, not a political one. Federal authorities said they found sympathizing photos and videos of prominent Hezbollah figures in a deleted items folder on her cell phone. “CBP questioned Dr Alawieh and determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined,” Assistant US Attorney Michael Sady wrote in a court filing Monday.
In the ongoing crackdown on immigrants — both legal, illegal — 34-year-old Alawieh was deported Friday despite holding an H-1b visa.
The deportation involved legal challenges too as a court order against her deportation Friday. CBP official John Wallace told that court that the officials at Boston’s Logan Airport did not receive formal notification of the court order before Alawieh was put on an Air France flight bound for Paris. The CBP official said CBP would never defy a court order and that the agency only acts on orders it gets from its legal counsel.
“Due to the extremely close timing between the issuance of the court order in this case and the boarding time of [the Air France flight] CBP did not receive the court’s orders until after the flight departed the United States,” Wallace added.
Alawieh deported for sympathizing with Hezbollah
Alawieh has been in the US since 2018 when she came on a student visa. As Alawieh arrived at the Boston airport Thursday, she was denied entry as CBP officers started questioning her, searching her phone. Alawieh was asked about the photos and videos of Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders. She said she’s apolitical and she received those photos on WhatsApp groups. “Due to the extremely close timing between the issuance of the court order in this case and the boarding time of [the Air France flight] CBP did not receive the court’s orders until after the flight departed the United States,” Wallace added.
“I think if you listen to one of his sermons you would know what I mean. He is a religious, spiritual person, as I said, he has very high value. His teachings are about spirituality and morality,” she added about the sheikh.
On being asked whether she supported Nasrallah, Alawieh said she supported him from a religious perspective. Alawieh also had photos of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but she said it was purely a religious thing.
Alawieh said she deleted some photos a day or two before arriving in the US as she did not want any perception but she could not delete all.
