A federal judge has ordered the administration of US President Donald Trump to explain why a Rhode Island doctor was deported to Lebanon in defiance of a previous order.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Brown University professor and Rhode Island Hospital physician, was detained by the US Customs and Border Protection officials at Boston’s Logan airport on March 13, despite having a valid H-1B visa which enables employers to hire non-American workers for positions that require specialty knowledge.
Federal Judge Leo T. Sorokin, in response to a petition from Alawieh's cousin, ordered that the Lebanese doctor not be deported without giving the court 48 hours’ notice.
However, Alawieh was placed on a flight to Paris, where she was detained on Saturday before flying to Lebanon.
“They did not do anything to stop the plane … So, clearly, they wanted to deport her regardless of if there was a judge’s order or not. She did not do anything wrong,” said Dr. Basma Merhi, a family friend and colleague.
Attorneys representing Alawieh's cousin, Yara Chehab, said in a court filing that the government had received "actual notice" and "willfully disobeyed" the court's order, as she was expected to fly to Lebanon on Sunday.
The Trump administration has not said why Alawieh was detained after visiting her family in Lebanon.
Sorokin on Sunday ordered CBP officials to court Monday morning to respond to the "serious allegations".
“These allegations are supported by a detailed and specific timeline in an underoath affidavit filed by an attorney,” Sorokin wrote in court documents. “The government shall respond to these serious allegations with a legal and factual response setting forth its version of events.”
“In addition, the government shall preserve all of the documents bearing on Dr. Alawieh’s arrival and removal since the issuance of the visa described in the petition including emails and text messages.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged the Trump administration to "immediately readmit" Alawieh.
"As a US resident for six years and a doctor working for the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension at Brown Medicine, Dr. Alawieh played a critical role in treating countless patients who needed treatment by a specialist," CAIR's statement read.
Her deportation came just one week after federal authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza across the US in 2024.
Khalil has been facing deportation, despite being a legal permanent resident in the US.
Earlier, the Department of Homeland Security arrested Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian student who had taken part in protests at Columbia University, for allegedly overstaying her F-1 student visa.
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