Brown University Doctor with H-1B visa held incommunicado at Logan airport for deportation after trip to see family in Lebanon

[essentialsaltes]

She saw family in Lebanon. Now this Brown Medicine doctor is being held at Logan for deportation.​

A Rhode Island doctor who traveled home to Lebanon to visit family was prevented by U.S. Customs officials from reentering the country on Thursday at Boston's Logan International Airport and told she was being deported back to her home country, said a fellow doctor and a lawyer for Brown Medicine.

Dr. Rasha Alawieh, 35, had been studying and working in the U.S. for the last six years and had been in Rhode Island, working for Brown Medicine in the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension, since last July, said her friend and fellow doctor Basma Merhi.

Alawieh was returning to the U.S. on an H-1B visa she had recently acquired at the American consulate in Lebanon, said lawyer Thomas S. Brown, [no relation?] who handles immigration and visa issues for doctors affiliated with Brown Medicine.

Brown said he won’t know the reason officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave for the detention until he can talk to Alawieh. And as of Friday afternoon, Alawieh was still being held at Logan Airport, technically not yet back on U.S. soil and therefore not allowed legal counsel, Brown said.

[Before they took her cellphone, she was given one call.] She called her brother in Switzerland, who spoke to a Customs official. The Customs official told him they planned to deport Alawieh back to Lebanon on a plane leaving Friday evening.

--

see also

Canadian Jasmine Mooney detained by ICE for days after trying to enter U.S. from Mexico, her mom says​

asmine Mooney, a 35-year-old business consultant who appeared in several TV and movie roles including 2009's "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love," was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 3, her mother Alexis Eagles said Wednesday on Facebook. Eagles said Mooney attempted to cross the border with her visa paperwork and a job offer from a company in the U.S. An ICE spokesperson confirmed Mooney's detainment in a statement to CBS News, saying she didn't have legal documentation to be in the U.S.

Mooney was crossing the border to apply for a temporary visa known as a TN visa, which she had previously obtained successfully, according to Canadian broadcaster Global News. The TN visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows Canadian and Mexican citizens to work in the U.S. in certain professional jobs under the terms of the North American free trade pact known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Her visa was denied, and she was held at the San Ysidro border crossing in Southern California for three nights, according to Eagles. She was then transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and held for another three nights.

On Friday, the ICE spokesperson told CBS News that Mooney was processed in accordance with one of the many executive orders President Trump signed after starting his second term. "All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the U.S., regardless of nationality," the spokesperson said in the statement.

 

[Richard T]

She saw family in Lebanon. Now this Brown Medicine doctor is being held at Logan for deportation.​

A Rhode Island doctor who traveled home to Lebanon to visit family was prevented by U.S. Customs officials from reentering the country on Thursday at Boston's Logan International Airport and told she was being deported back to her home country, said a fellow doctor and a lawyer for Brown Medicine.

Dr. Rasha Alawieh, 35, had been studying and working in the U.S. for the last six years and had been in Rhode Island, working for Brown Medicine in the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension, since last July, said her friend and fellow doctor Basma Merhi.

Alawieh was returning to the U.S. on an H-1B visa she had recently acquired at the American consulate in Lebanon, said lawyer Thomas S. Brown, [no relation?] who handles immigration and visa issues for doctors affiliated with Brown Medicine.

Brown said he won’t know the reason officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave for the detention until he can talk to Alawieh. And as of Friday afternoon, Alawieh was still being held at Logan Airport, technically not yet back on U.S. soil and therefore not allowed legal counsel, Brown said.

[Before they took her cellphone, she was given one call.] She called her brother in Switzerland, who spoke to a Customs official. The Customs official told him they planned to deport Alawieh back to Lebanon on a plane leaving Friday evening.

--

see also

Canadian Jasmine Mooney detained by ICE for days after trying to enter U.S. from Mexico, her mom says​

asmine Mooney, a 35-year-old business consultant who appeared in several TV and movie roles including 2009's "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love," was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 3, her mother Alexis Eagles said Wednesday on Facebook. Eagles said Mooney attempted to cross the border with her visa paperwork and a job offer from a company in the U.S. An ICE spokesperson confirmed Mooney's detainment in a statement to CBS News, saying she didn't have legal documentation to be in the U.S.

Mooney was crossing the border to apply for a temporary visa known as a TN visa, which she had previously obtained successfully, according to Canadian broadcaster Global News. The TN visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows Canadian and Mexican citizens to work in the U.S. in certain professional jobs under the terms of the North American free trade pact known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Her visa was denied, and she was held at the San Ysidro border crossing in Southern California for three nights, according to Eagles. She was then transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and held for another three nights.

On Friday, the ICE spokesperson told CBS News that Mooney was processed in accordance with one of the many executive orders President Trump signed after starting his second term. "All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the U.S., regardless of nationality," the spokesperson said in the statement.

Just because you are holding a visa does not always mean that you will gain entry or re-entry into the United States. Ask the 1% or so of all fiance visa holders, that fly over to the USA to get married but are denied entry.
I would like to think that there are good reasons for all the rejections and that the detention is to sort things out. I am certain we will hear of more of this. It is hard to round up so many without some mistakes too.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Brown University doctor deported despite judge’s order​

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, an appointee of former President Obama, was set to hold a hearing Monday after Rasha Alawieh was deported to Lebanon but canceled it shortly before it began. The deportation came after Sorokin said Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist, was to stay in the country.

Sorokin on Friday ordered the government to provide 48 hours notice before deporting her, but she was then put on a flight out of the country.

According to court documents, the federal government says Customs and Border Patrol officers did not receive notice of the court order to keep Alawieh in the country until after she was deported and “[a]t no time would CBP not take a court order seriously or fail to abide by a court’s order.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a post on X that Alawieh went to 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."

 

[RocksInMyHead]

According to court documents, the federal government says Customs and Border Patrol officers did not receive notice of the court order to keep Alawieh in the country until after she was deported

I'm detecting a pattern here...

Justice Department Stonewalls Federal Judge Over Deportation Flights

The Trump administration tried to have the hearing canceled and sought to remove the judge overseeing it, as White House officials took a confrontational stance.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Pommer]

I'm detecting a pattern here...

Justice Department Stonewalls Federal Judge Over Deportation Flights

The Trump administration tried to have the hearing canceled and sought to remove the judge overseeing it, as White House officials took a confrontational stance.

www.nytimes.com

It appears that for this administration, “government efficiency”= do things before the court’s paperwork arrives.

 

[camille70]

The one that surprised me was the German man. I didn't think Trump and ICE were targeting "white presenting" immigrants.

US Green Card holder stripped naked, "violently interrogated" by ICE—Mother

"Fabian said to me that he feels he's very fearful and is frightened," the man's mother, Astrid Senior, said.

www.newsweek.com

 

[Nithavela]

The one that surprised me was the German man. I didn't think Trump and ICE were targeting "white presenting" immigrants.

US Green Card holder stripped naked, "violently interrogated" by ICE—Mother

"Fabian said to me that he feels he's very fearful and is frightened," the man's mother, Astrid Senior, said.

www.newsweek.com

You know the saying about "first the came for the jews", right?

 

[essentialsaltes]

British tourist detained by ICE in US for 3 weeks for attempting to infiltrate Canada returns to UK – reports​

Burke was trying to cross into the US state of Washington from Canada when she was refused entry. [She had been planning to stay with a host family where she would carry out domestic chores in exchange for accommodation, and was told she should have applied for a working visa instead of a tourist visa.] Canadian authorities told her to go back to the US and fill in new paperwork before returning.

However, when she tried to re-enter the US, she was handcuffed and put in a cell before being taken to the Tacoma Northwest detention facility.

Her father, Paul Burke, previously said she was being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “in horrendous conditions” and had not had access to legal representation.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

She saw family in Lebanon. Now this Brown Medicine doctor is being held at Logan for deportation.​

A Rhode Island doctor who traveled home to Lebanon to visit family was prevented by U.S. Customs officials from reentering the country on Thursday at Boston's Logan International Airport and told she was being deported back to her home country, said a fellow doctor and a lawyer for Brown Medicine.

Dr. Rasha Alawieh, 35, had been studying and working in the U.S. for the last six years and had been in Rhode Island, working for Brown Medicine in the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension, since last July, said her friend and fellow doctor Basma Merhi.

Alawieh was returning to the U.S. on an H-1B visa she had recently acquired at the American consulate in Lebanon, said lawyer Thomas S. Brown, [no relation?] who handles immigration and visa issues for doctors affiliated with Brown Medicine.

Brown said he won’t know the reason officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave for the detention until he can talk to Alawieh. And as of Friday afternoon, Alawieh was still being held at Logan Airport, technically not yet back on U.S. soil and therefore not allowed legal counsel, Brown said.

[Before they took her cellphone, she was given one call.] She called her brother in Switzerland, who spoke to a Customs official. The Customs official told him they planned to deport Alawieh back to Lebanon on a plane leaving Friday evening.

Dr. Alawieh attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last month. Attending such an event raises questions about her innocence.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Dr. Alawieh attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last month. Attending such an event raises questions about her innocence.

Sounds like some sort of process where she has her right to due process is called for.

 

[Belk]

Dr. Alawieh attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last month. Attending such an event raises questions about her innocence.

Innocence of what? What questions are raised by going to someones funeral?

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

Sounds like some sort of process where she has her right to due process is called for.

She went to a known terrorist funeral.

She is neither a US citizen nor a US green card holder, so she does not receive the same due process protections, and her visa can be revoked under less stringent circumstances.

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

Innocence of what? What questions are raised by going to someones funeral?

Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist. he was not another "someone".

 

[essentialsaltes]

She is neither a US citizen nor a US green card holder, so she does not receive the same due process protections

False. According to the Constitution, who can be deprived of due process rights? "No person".

 

[FAITH-IN-HIM]

False, according to the Constitution, who can be deprived of due process rights? "No person".

I am not a constitutional scholar, but we will soon find out if she has the right to stay in the US after attending a terrorist’s funeral.

 

[essentialsaltes]

I am not a constitutional scholar, but we will soon find out if she has the right to stay in the US after attending a terrorist’s funeral.

I hope so. But it's possible the Trump Administration will say, "Oopsie! The point is now moot." And the courts may agree without hearing the merits of the case.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

her visa can be revoked under less stringent circumstances.

While true, there is still a process that must be followed:

9 FAM 403.11 (U) NIV REVOCATION

 

[Belk]

Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist. he was not another "someone".

Yes, so I have heard. That does not answer my question though.

 

[camille70]

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany updated its travel advisory for the United States to emphasise that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry for its citizens after several Germans were detained at the border recently, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

The ministry updated its travel advice website for the U.S. on Tuesday to clarify that neither approval through the U.S. ESTA system nor a U.S. visa entitles entry in every case.

"The final decision on whether a person can enter the U.S. lies with the U.S. border authorities," said the spokesperson on Wednesday.


However, the spokesperson emphasised that the change did not constitute a travel warning.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-03-19/germany-updates-us-travel-advice-after-citizens-detained

 

[essentialsaltes]

see also

Canadian Jasmine Mooney detained by ICE for days after trying to enter U.S. from Mexico, her mom says​

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped

I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky

www.theguardian.com