Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a medical professor at Brown University, was recently deported back to Lebanon upon her arrival in the United States after a visit to the country. Her attorneys and family claim it was "without justification."
"Dr. Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor at Brown Medicine, held an H-1B visa when she traveled to her home country to visit her family, according to the petition, which was filed in federal court by a cousin who learned of her situation," NBC News reports. "Court documents alleged that upon returning to the United States at the end of last week, she was held at Boston Logan International Airport for 36 hours before she was sent back to Lebanon this weekend in violation of a federal judge’s order to halt her deportation. The initial petition Friday claimed that Customs and Border Protection had detained her 'without any justification,' during which Alawieh had been uncontactable and unable to access legal counsel."
But there is, in fact, a very good reason.
During her visit to Lebanon, Alawieh attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
"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 support of Nasrallah," Homeland Security released in a statement. "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."
Hezbollah, an Iranian backed terrorist organization, has murdered thousands of Americans since the 1980s. The group was responsible for the Beirut bombing in 1983, when 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy sailors and 3 U.S. Army soldiers were killed. Before 9/11, Hezbollah was responsible for more American murders than any other terrorist organization in the world. Nasrallah was taken out by the Israeli military in September 2024.
The White House is also weighing in.
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— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 17, 2025