Latest news with #BrownMedicine
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawyers challenge customs officials' constitutional authority to deport Brown Medicine kidney doctor
Demonstrators gathered outside of the Rhode Island State House to protest the deportation of Brown Medicine kidney doctor Rasha Alawieh on March 17, 2025 in Providence. (Photo by) Attorneys for Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Brown Medicine kidney doctor deported to her native Lebanon in mid-March, continue to fight to bring her back. An amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts Monday contends that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who refused entry to Alawieh at Boston Logan International Airport lacked the constitutional authority to deport her back to Lebanon. The amended complaint, unavailable electronically due to federal court rules limiting public access to in immigration cases, was shared by Alawieh's attorneys Tuesday. 'The Constitution requires that federal officials with significant power over people's lives be appointed by the President or Department heads, to ensure oversight and accountability for their actions,' Golnaz Fakhimi, legal director of Muslim Advocates, which is co-representing Alawieh in the case, said in a statement. 'For Dr. Alawieh, a visibly Muslim woman, the government has thumbed its nose at these Constitutional requirements.' Cambridge, Massachusetts-based immigration law firm Marzouk Law LLC is also representing Alawieh in the deportation case. Alawieh, 34, was stopped by federal immigration authorities at Boston Logan International Airport on March 13 while heading back to Rhode Island after securing a coveted H-1B work visa from the U.S. Embassy in her native Beirut, according to court documents. An emergency petition filed by her cousin a day later sought to stop Alawieh from being deported from the airport, but Alawieh was already on a flight to Paris by the time the judge's emergency order was received by customs officials. Her abrupt deportation drew a mass protest outside the Rhode Island State House days later, but there has been little public outcry in the nearly two months since she was sent back to Lebanon. An initial hearing scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin on March 17 was canceled due to changes in Alawieh's legal representation. The updated complaint asks U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin to declare Alawieh's removal order unlawful, reinstate her H-1B work visa, and allow for removal proceedings before a federal immigration judge. 'For Dr. Alawieh — someone with over six-and-a-half years of lawful presence and ties to the United States, seeking to return from brief travel abroad — due process requires the opportunity to be heard by an immigration judge,' her lawyers said in a statement. Ryan Brissette, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, declined to comment on the updated complaint Tuesday, saying the agency does not comment on pending litigation. Airport customs officials found photos of various Hezbollah leaders on Alawieh's phone, according to court documents filed by the federal administration. Excerpts from the filings were shared on social media by U.S. Homeland Security. She also told customs officials when questioned that she attended a funeral event for the Islamist group's late leader, Hassan Nasrallah, the administration alleged. The stadium event held in Beirut on Feb. 23 drew hundreds of thousands of attendees. Constitutional authority versus politics Alawieh's lawyers acknowledged but gave little credence to Alawieh's religious and political beliefs as they pertain to her deportation. Instead, the updated complaint centers on whether customs officials had the power to decide whether she was allowed to enter the country or not. 'The claims in this case do not concern the questioning,' the amended complaint states. 'This case turns on whether the role and authority of CPB officers and the procedures they applied to their engagement with Dr. Alawieh violated the requirements of the Constitution.' The three federal customs officers stationed at Logan, two of whom are identified by last name only in the amended complaint, were not directly appointed by the president or Congress. Therefore, they lack authority to deport her — violating the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the lawsuit states. 'For well over a century the Supreme Court has made clear that the power 'to forbid the entrance of foreigners within its dominions, or to admit them only in such cases and upon such conditions as it may see fit to prescribe' is a sovereign responsibility, the 'final determination' of which is entrusted to 'executive officers,'' the complaint states. 'The unchecked devolution of this power to unappointed employees cannot be squared with the Appointments Clause.' The lawsuit also identifies as defendants the anonymous Boston field office director for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Peter Flores, acting commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Alawieh is among a growing number of immigrants, including some U.S. citizens and other visa holders, who have been detained and deported since Trump took office. Her case drew public interest in part due to her medical training — Alawieh is one of three transplant nephrologists in Rhode Island, providing life-saving care to patients who now have no doctor, the lawsuit contends. Court documents reveal the Lebanese doctor had been working and studying in the United States since 2018. After finishing her residency at the American University of Beirut, Alawieh completed a series of fellowships in nephrology at Ohio State University, University of Washington and, most recently, Yale University. In June 2024, she was offered an assistant professorship through Brown Medicine Inc.'s Division of Nephrology. The nonprofit, physician-led practice, which is affiliated with the Brown University Warren Alpert School of Medicine, offered to sponsor Alawieh's H-1B visa for the job. While her petition for the specialty work visa was approved in June 2024, she was not able to obtain the visa itself from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut until March of this year — the purpose of her visit home. In addition to her job at Brown Medicine, the nonprofit, physician-led practice, which is affiliated with the Brown University Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Alawieh also had a clinical fellowship at Brown University, and consulted on cases out of Rhode Island Hospital, which is owned by Brown University Health. 'Doctors, no matter where they're from, are an integral part of our communities,' Dr. Daniel Walden, a resident physician at Brown University who helped launch a petition to bring Dr. Alawieh back home, said in a statement Tuesday. 'Dr. Alawieh is a compassionate healthcare professional who provides much-needed care to our community. She has stood by her patients, her community, and her colleagues, and it's our turn to stand up for her. We urge the prompt return of Dr. Alawieh so she can continue providing crucial healthcare to Rhode Island.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How feds took control of the narrative in deportation of Brown Medicine kidney doctor
Images of former Hezbollah leaders, Hassan Nasrallah, left, and Hashem Safieddine, are seen at the stage for their funerals at the Sports City Stadium on Feb. 23, 2025, in Beirut, Lebanon. Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Brown Medicine kidney doctor, was deported after U.S. Customs officials found photos of the funeral on her phone. She told immigration officials she attended the funeral in the context of his religious practice, according to news reports based on court documents challenging Alawieh's deportation. (Photo by) As public outcry over the deportation of a Brown Medicine kidney doctor swelled, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took to X. The Monday post social media touts the deportation of Dr. Rasha Alawieh as 'commonsense security,' stating that Alawieh attended a mass funeral for the late leader of Hezbollah in her home country, Lebanon, last month. It doesn't acknowledge the rest of the conversation between Alawieh and customs officials at Boston Logan International Airport last week before they deported her. And thanks to a federal court rule limiting public electronic access, the interview transcript can't be accessed online. The ongoing legal battle over Alawieh's deportation last week highlights the weaknesses in the 2007 clause meant to protect sensitive information in federal immigration and Social Security cases. 'It was a well-intentioned rule to start out with,' said Peter Margulies, a law professor at Roger Williams University School of Law. 'The problem is that the rule has turned out to basically harm public knowledge about immigration cases, and basically protect the government from accountability for the government's own abuses.' Under the federal civil procedure rule, attorneys and parties to a case can still access all court filings electronically, but general members of the public can only see the docket list and any court opinion, order, disposition or judgment. In Alawieh's case, two of the 21 documents on the docket — both orders from U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorkin — are publicly available online. The federal rule doesn't prevent the rest of the filings from being viewed in person. Seven reporters headed to the Boston courthouse Monday morning to read the documents and cover a case hearing, which was postponed after one of Alawieh's lawyers withdrew from the case. Among them was Edward Fitzpatrick, a reporter for The Boston Globe in Rhode Island, who had covered the Alawieh case throughout the weekend. On Monday morning, he huddled around a single computer in the Boston courthouse alongside reporters from the Providence Journal, POLITICO, Wall Street Journal and local outlets. Rhode Island Current was unable to access the documents electronically. State House rally protests deportation of Brown Medicine kidney doctor Fitzpatrick had to take notes by hand on the documents on the screen. They were not allowed to print or take photos of the filings. Fitzpatrick's story, along with others by media outlets able to access documents in person that morning, offer the only glimpse into what happened at the airport last week. What they reveal is far more complex than the DHS post on social media. Alawieh, who has spent the last six years studying and working in the United States, was on her way back to her job in Rhode Island, having just secured an H-1B work visa from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. At the border checkpoint, her phone was taken and examined, revealing photos of various Hezbollah leaders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detained her, holding her in custody for 36 hours. By then, her cousin filed the court petition, seeking a judge's intervention. Sorkin ordered immigration officials not to deport Alawieh. But she was already on a plane back to Paris by the time customs agents claim they received the order. When questioned at the airport prior to her deportation, Alawieh allegedly admitted to attending the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in February. The stadium event held in Beirut on Feb. 23 drew hundreds of thousands of attendees. However, she said she was not political and only viewed Nasrallah in the context of his religious practice, as Fitzpatrick reported after viewing the documents at the Boston courthouse on Monday. 'To get that exchange of questions and answers was a key document into what happened and why,' Fitzpatrick said in an interview. Fitzpatrick, who also serves as a board member for the New England First Amendment Coalition, did not think limiting public access to the electronic documents was helpful for either side in the case, or for the public's trust in the courts. 'I received so many questions on this story, and a lot of the answers to those questions lie in those documents,' he said. 'The government is the one who always says, 'We want one official record.' It's going to be a lot easier to get that record and have it be absolutely correct if it's publicly accessible.' Shortly after Fitzpatrick and other reporters jotted down notes from the documents in Boston, Sorkin sealed the case, barring access to the information, even in person. Stephanie Marzouk, Alawieh's attorney, had asked for the case to be sealed, according to the court docket. Marzouk declined to comment when reached by email Wednesday. Margulies said attorneys often seek to seal records or impede access as a way to gain an edge in a case. But it might not help Alawieh's cause, especially when the federal administration is using social media to paint a limited picture of her religious and political beliefs. 'It seems like it's not really serving anyone other than DHS at this point because they're the ones pushing the narrative,' Zachary Lyons, an immigration attorney with Barton Gilman LLP in Providence. Lyons was not shocked to learn that Alawieh had been sent back to her home country despite having obtained a visa permitting her to work in Rhode Island as a kidney transplant doctor. Fourth Amendment protections do not apply at ports of entry, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have broad authority to deny entry under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Lyons said. However, he was unsure what clause within the 1952 law would be used to justify Alawieh's deportation. Unable to access past or future court filings in the case, he can't find out. Lyons is already familiar with the federal rule that limits public electronic access to court documents in federal immigration cases. It's not a common problem because it doesn't apply to cases in separate federal immigration court, but it comes up enough in civil appeals to cause frustration, he said. 'We're in the year 2025,' Lyons said. 'We can access other court documents online.' Lyons also questioned how limiting electronic access to documents offers personal privacy when the same information can be viewed in person. The problem is that the rule has turned out to basically harm public knowledge about immigration cases, and basically protect the government from accountability for the government's own abuses. – Peter Margulies, a law professor at Roger Williams University School of Law But not every case has garnered as much attention as Alawieh's. In most cases, members of the public and reporters won't be interested enough to go to a courthouse to hunt down the documents, Margulies said. Judges can circumvent the rule by specifically ordering not to apply the limits on electronic access. They can also agree to lift documents previously placed under seal. In 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island offered both these remedies in a case regarding the release of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees from the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. Originally, court records for the detainees were sealed, but McElroy agreed to make everything but medical information publicly available at the request of the Providence Journal, which covered the hearings. McElroy also suspended the limitations on electronic access to court documents in the case as part of the same June 7, 2020, order because the courthouse was closed at the time due to the pandemic. 'The Court finds that the public interest is not served by applying the ordinary prohibition on remote electronic access in Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(c) for the duration of the time that the Courthouse remains closed,' McElroy wrote. Attorneys for both sides had two days following McElroy's order to redact any personal information from the documents they had submitted. The suspension ended when courts reopened. Eliminating or modifying the rule permanently requires approval by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Advisory Committee, an appointed panel which recommends changes to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding civil cases. There are also advisory committees for federal criminal, bankruptcy and appellate courts, as well as a standing advisory committee. More than 200 requested rule changes are pending before federal advisory committees, according to its website, including a handful related to the rule about privacy in sensitive cases. However, most requested rule changes seek to strengthen privacy protections by requiring redactions of personal information such as Social Security numbers, rather than make the information publicly available online. 'There's a constant dialogue in the way the advisory committee works,' Margulies said. While there have been efforts in the past to eliminate the limits on electronic access to federal court filings, they have failed to reach a 'critical mass,' Margulies said. Alawieh's deportation case might change that. 'It's certainly the most glaring issue of this type under the existing federal rule,' he said. The Rhode Island Bar Association has not taken a position on the rule, said President Christopher Gontarz. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
CNN
18-03-2025
- Health
- CNN
What we know about a Rhode Island doctor and professor who was deported to Lebanon
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a doctor and assistant professor with a visa to work in Rhode Island, was deported to her native Lebanon over the weekend despite an ongoing dispute over her detention by federal agents and a court order intended to keep her in the United States. Alawieh's case got more complicated Monday after a federal judge said Customs and Border Protection did not deliberately violate his order and the Trump administration – as it broadly seeks to ramp up immigration arrests – indicated her removal was prompted by photos on her cell phone of a slain Hezbollah leader and Iran's supreme leader. The case has drawn criticism from immigration advocates, as well as many of Alawieh's colleagues at Brown Medicine in Providence, who say patients will suffer in her absence. Here's what we know: Alawieh, 34, came to the United States in 2018 after earning a medical degree from the American University of Beirut, according to a court document filed by her family. She then completed a series of study programs at The Ohio State University, the University of Washington in Seattle and Yale University, according to the filing. Alawieh lived in the US during those years on a J-1 visa for 'exchange visitors,' including people planning to 'receive graduate medical education or training,' according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. In June 2024, Alawieh began an assistant professorship at Brown University that includes work as a specialist in nephrology – the treatment of kidney diseases – for Brown Medicine, the non-profit medical organization affiliated with the university's medical school, the court document states. A Brown University spokesperson confirmed her employment to CNN. As an employee rather than a student, Alawieh applied for an H-1B visa, which her family says was approved only 10 days after it was filed, the court record says. Alawieh's difficulties with immigration began in February, when she visited Lebanon and her visa to return to the United States was delayed, according to the court petition. 'Our understanding is that this delay was due to increased vetting of Lebanese nationals in case of any security risk, under administrative processing,' her attorneys said. While in Lebanon, Alawieh attended the public funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, Customs and Border Protection said. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based group declared a terrorist organization by the United States and many other Western countries in a long-standing armed conflict with Israel. Nasrallah was killed last September by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. 'Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah,' a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Alawieh also acknowledged to immigration officers Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, a source familiar with the case told CNN. The White House in a social media post set a photo of Alawieh next to a photo of Republican President Donald Trump waving, with the statement, 'Bye-bye Rasha.' Bye-bye, Rasha 👋 Alawieh also had photos of Nasrallah and Iran's supreme leader on her phone when she arrived early Thursday at Boston Logan International Airport, a court filing by the Trump administration Monday said; the court document was obtained by CNN affiliate WCVB shortly before it was sealed by a federal judge. It was not immediately clear why federal officers were examining her phone. 'In explaining why these multiple photos were deleted by her one to two days before she arrived at Logan Airport, Dr. Alawieh stated that she did not want to give authorities the perception that she supports Hezbollah and the Ayatollah politically or militarily,' the filing reads, per WCVB. '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,' Alawieh told officers, according to the document WCVB obtained. Visa holders are not guaranteed entry to the US, Customs and Border Protection said, adding border agents have final say on who gets in after security checks. 'Foreign nationals who promote extremist ideologies or carry terrorist propaganda are inadmissible to the US, plain and simple,' agency spokesperson Hilton Beckham told CNN on Monday. The day after Alawieh was detained at Logan, her fight to stay in the United States went to federal court with a complaint claiming she was being denied due process. The case was filed by her cousin Yara Chehab, who told the court Alawieh could not file it herself because she did not have access to counsel. US District Judge Leo Sorokin, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, on Friday issued an order preventing Alawieh from being removed from Massachusetts 'without forty-eight hours prior notice to the Court,' which the judge said was his standard procedure in deportation cases. But Alawieh was deported anyway, prompting Sorokin on Sunday to demand an explanation from Customs and Border Protection. In a court filing Monday, the judge said he had been given a sworn affidavit advising him federal agents had not gotten official notice of his order until after Alawieh was already headed back to Lebanon. Sorokin accepted the explanation and gave the government a week to provide more information. Sorokin canceled a hearing Monday at the request of Alawieh's attorney, Stephanie Marzouk, who told the court all Alawieh's other attorneys had withdrawn from the case. Marzouk spoke briefly to reporters Monday outside a federal courthouse in Boston. 'Our client is in Lebanon, and we're not going to stop fighting to get her back in the US to see her patients, and we're also going to make sure that the government follows the rule of law,' said Marzouk, who declined the answer questions from CNN. The government filed a motion to dismiss the case, according to Sorokin's order, and the judge told Marzouk to respond by the end of March. Sorokin is also considering a request by Marzouk to permanently seal evidence the government provided to the court to justify the deportation. Marzouk did not say Monday on what legal grounds she would demand Alawieh's return, and a former attorney for the Department of Homeland Security said it would likely be an uphill battle. 'In immigration cases, the burden is on the person trying to enter to show why they should be allowed to enter,' Veronica Cardenas told CNN. 'Essentially, immigration officers really don't have a bar to prove anything.' Dozens of supporters protested Monday evening in support of Alawieh outside the Rhode Island State House in Providence. Some of their signs read, 'Dr. Rasha Has Rights,' and, 'Bring Back Dr. Alawieh: We Need Her Here.' While Brown Medicine has declined to comment on the legal dispute, some staff members called Alawieh an important colleague. 'We had a nationwide search (and) she was the best candidate for the job medically, and her absence will be a loss for the men, women and children in our state who have chronic kidney disease and will have kidney transplants,' Dr. Douglas Shemin, who recruited Alawieh to Brown, told CNN affiliate WFXT. 'She's only one of three transplant nephrologists in the state of Rhode Island, and her absence will be felt deeply,' said Dr. Susie Hu, interim director of the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension at Brown Medicine. Alawieh treated dozens of patients daily, Hu told WFXT. Kidney transplant recipients require lifelong aftercare and are at a higher risk of developing complications because their medications suppress the immune system. 'Rasha is the sweetest person; we've never had an issue with her in any way,' Dr. Paul Morrissey, the director of Brown's transplant program, told WCVB. 'She's an outstanding physician, outstanding person. She's a pleasure to work with, and we're horrified by this entire event.'
CNN
18-03-2025
- Health
- CNN
What we know about a Rhode Island doctor and professor who was deported to Lebanon
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a doctor and assistant professor with a visa to work in Rhode Island, was deported to her native Lebanon over the weekend despite an ongoing dispute over her detention by federal agents and a court order intended to keep her in the United States. Alawieh's case got more complicated Monday after a federal judge said Customs and Border Protection did not deliberately violate his order and the Trump administration – as it broadly seeks to ramp up immigration arrests – indicated her removal was prompted by photos on her cell phone of a slain Hezbollah leader and Iran's supreme leader. The case has drawn criticism from immigration advocates, as well as many of Alawieh's colleagues at Brown Medicine in Providence, who say patients will suffer in her absence. Here's what we know: Alawieh, 34, came to the United States in 2018 after earning a medical degree from the American University of Beirut, according to a court document filed by her family. She then completed a series of study programs at The Ohio State University, the University of Washington in Seattle and Yale University, according to the filing. Alawieh lived in the US during those years on a J-1 visa for 'exchange visitors,' including people planning to 'receive graduate medical education or training,' according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. In June 2024, Alawieh began an assistant professorship at Brown University that includes work as a specialist in nephrology – the treatment of kidney diseases – for Brown Medicine, the non-profit medical organization affiliated with the university's medical school, the court document states. A Brown University spokesperson confirmed her employment to CNN. As an employee rather than a student, Alawieh applied for an H-1B visa, which her family says was approved only 10 days after it was filed, the court record says. Alawieh's difficulties with immigration began in February, when she visited Lebanon and her visa to return to the United States was delayed, according to the court petition. 'Our understanding is that this delay was due to increased vetting of Lebanese nationals in case of any security risk, under administrative processing,' her attorneys said. While in Lebanon, Alawieh attended the public funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, Customs and Border Protection said. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based group declared a terrorist organization by the United States and many other Western countries in a long-standing armed conflict with Israel. Nasrallah was killed last September by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. 'Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah,' a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Alawieh also acknowledged to immigration officers Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, a source familiar with the case told CNN. The White House in a social media post set a photo of Alawieh next to a photo of Republican President Donald Trump waving, with the statement, 'Bye-bye Rasha.' Bye-bye, Rasha 👋 Alawieh also had photos of Nasrallah and Iran's supreme leader on her phone when she arrived early Thursday at Boston Logan International Airport, a court filing by the Trump administration Monday said; the court document was obtained by CNN affiliate WCVB shortly before it was sealed by a federal judge. It was not immediately clear why federal officers were examining her phone. 'In explaining why these multiple photos were deleted by her one to two days before she arrived at Logan Airport, Dr. Alawieh stated that she did not want to give authorities the perception that she supports Hezbollah and the Ayatollah politically or militarily,' the filing reads, per WCVB. '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,' Alawieh told officers, according to the document WCVB obtained. Visa holders are not guaranteed entry to the US, Customs and Border Protection said, adding border agents have final say on who gets in after security checks. 'Foreign nationals who promote extremist ideologies or carry terrorist propaganda are inadmissible to the US, plain and simple,' agency spokesperson Hilton Beckham told CNN on Monday. The day after Alawieh was detained at Logan, her fight to stay in the United States went to federal court with a complaint claiming she was being denied due process. The case was filed by her cousin Yara Chehab, who told the court Alawieh could not file it herself because she did not have access to counsel. US District Judge Leo Sorokin, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, on Friday issued an order preventing Alawieh from being removed from Massachusetts 'without forty-eight hours prior notice to the Court,' which the judge said was his standard procedure in deportation cases. But Alawieh was deported anyway, prompting Sorokin on Sunday to demand an explanation from Customs and Border Protection. In a court filing Monday, the judge said he had been given a sworn affidavit advising him federal agents had not gotten official notice of his order until after Alawieh was already headed back to Lebanon. Sorokin accepted the explanation and gave the government a week to provide more information. Sorokin canceled a hearing Monday at the request of Alawieh's attorney, Stephanie Marzouk, who told the court all Alawieh's other attorneys had withdrawn from the case. Marzouk spoke briefly to reporters Monday outside a federal courthouse in Boston. 'Our client is in Lebanon, and we're not going to stop fighting to get her back in the US to see her patients, and we're also going to make sure that the government follows the rule of law,' said Marzouk, who declined the answer questions from CNN. The government filed a motion to dismiss the case, according to Sorokin's order, and the judge told Marzouk to respond by the end of March. Sorokin is also considering a request by Marzouk to permanently seal evidence the government provided to the court to justify the deportation. Marzouk did not say Monday on what legal grounds she would demand Alawieh's return, and a former attorney for the Department of Homeland Security said it would likely be an uphill battle. 'In immigration cases, the burden is on the person trying to enter to show why they should be allowed to enter,' Veronica Cardenas told CNN. 'Essentially, immigration officers really don't have a bar to prove anything.' Dozens of supporters protested Monday evening in support of Alawieh outside the Rhode Island State House in Providence. Some of their signs read, 'Dr. Rasha Has Rights,' and, 'Bring Back Dr. Alawieh: We Need Her Here.' While Brown Medicine has declined to comment on the legal dispute, some staff members called Alawieh an important colleague. 'We had a nationwide search (and) she was the best candidate for the job medically, and her absence will be a loss for the men, women and children in our state who have chronic kidney disease and will have kidney transplants,' Dr. Douglas Shemin, who recruited Alawieh to Brown, told CNN affiliate WFXT. 'She's only one of three transplant nephrologists in the state of Rhode Island, and her absence will be felt deeply,' said Dr. Susie Hu, interim director of the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension at Brown Medicine. Alawieh treated dozens of patients daily, Hu told WFXT. Kidney transplant recipients require lifelong aftercare and are at a higher risk of developing complications because their medications suppress the immune system. 'Rasha is the sweetest person; we've never had an issue with her in any way,' Dr. Paul Morrissey, the director of Brown's transplant program, told WCVB. 'She's an outstanding physician, outstanding person. She's a pleasure to work with, and we're horrified by this entire event.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What we know about a Rhode Island doctor and professor who was deported to Lebanon
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a doctor and assistant professor with a visa to work in Rhode Island, was deported to her native Lebanon over the weekend despite an ongoing dispute over her detention by federal agents and a court order intended to keep her in the United States. Alawieh's case got more complicated Monday after a federal judge said Customs and Border Protection did not deliberately violate his order and the Trump administration – as it broadly seeks to ramp up immigration arrests – indicated her removal was prompted by photos on her cell phone of a slain Hezbollah leader and Iran's supreme leader. The case has drawn criticism from immigration advocates, as well as many of Alawieh's colleagues at Brown Medicine in Providence, who say patients will suffer in her absence. Here's what we know: Alawieh, 34, came to the United States in 2018 after earning a medical degree from the American University of Beirut, according to a court document filed by her family. She then completed a series of study programs at The Ohio State University, the University of Washington in Seattle and Yale University, according to the filing. Alawieh lived in the US during those years on a J-1 visa for 'exchange visitors,' including people planning to 'receive graduate medical education or training,' according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services. In June 2024, Alawieh began an assistant professorship at Brown University that includes work as a specialist in nephrology – the treatment of kidney diseases – for Brown Medicine, the non-profit medical organization affiliated with the university's medical school, the court document states. A Brown University spokesperson confirmed her employment to CNN. As an employee rather than a student, Alawieh applied for an H-1B visa, which her family says was approved only 10 days after it was filed, the court record says. Alawieh's difficulties with immigration began in February, when she visited Lebanon and her visa to return to the United States was delayed, according to the court petition. 'Our understanding is that this delay was due to increased vetting of Lebanese nationals in case of any security risk, under administrative processing,' her attorneys said. While in Lebanon, Alawieh attended the public funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, Customs and Border Protection said. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based group declared a terrorist organization by the United States and many other Western countries in a long-standing armed conflict with Israel. Nasrallah was killed last September by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. 'Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah,' a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Alawieh also acknowledged to immigration officers Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, a source familiar with the case told CNN. The White House in a social media post set a photo of Alawieh next to a photo of Republican President Donald Trump waving, with the statement, 'Bye-bye Rasha.' Alawieh also had photos of Nasrallah and Iran's supreme leader on her phone when she arrived early Thursday at Boston Logan International Airport, a court filing by the Trump administration Monday said; the court document was obtained by CNN affiliate WCVB shortly before it was sealed by a federal judge. It was not immediately clear why federal officers were examining her phone. 'In explaining why these multiple photos were deleted by her one to two days before she arrived at Logan Airport, Dr. Alawieh stated that she did not want to give authorities the perception that she supports Hezbollah and the Ayatollah politically or militarily,' the filing reads, per WCVB. '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,' Alawieh told officers, according to the document WCVB obtained. Visa holders are not guaranteed entry to the US, Customs and Border Protection said, adding border agents have final say on who gets in after security checks. 'Foreign nationals who promote extremist ideologies or carry terrorist propaganda are inadmissible to the US, plain and simple,' agency spokesperson Hilton Beckham told CNN on Monday. The day after Alawieh was detained at Logan, her fight to stay in the United States went to federal court with a complaint claiming she was being denied due process. The case was filed by her cousin Yara Chehab, who told the court Alawieh could not file it herself because she did not have access to counsel. US District Judge Leo Sorokin, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, on Friday issued an order preventing Alawieh from being removed from Massachusetts 'without forty-eight hours prior notice to the Court,' which the judge said was his standard procedure in deportation cases. But Alawieh was deported anyway, prompting Sorokin on Sunday to demand an explanation from Customs and Border Protection. In a court filing Monday, the judge said he had been given a sworn affidavit advising him federal agents had not gotten official notice of his order until after Alawieh was already headed back to Lebanon. Sorokin accepted the explanation and gave the government a week to provide more information. Sorokin canceled a hearing Monday at the request of Alawieh's attorney, Stephanie Marzouk, who told the court all Alawieh's other attorneys had withdrawn from the case. Marzouk spoke briefly to reporters Monday outside a federal courthouse in Boston. 'Our client is in Lebanon, and we're not going to stop fighting to get her back in the US to see her patients, and we're also going to make sure that the government follows the rule of law,' said Marzouk, who declined the answer questions from CNN. The government filed a motion to dismiss the case, according to Sorokin's order, and the judge told Marzouk to respond by the end of March. Sorokin is also considering a request by Marzouk to permanently seal evidence the government provided to the court to justify the deportation. Marzouk did not say Monday on what legal grounds she would demand Alawieh's return, and a former attorney for the Department of Homeland Security said it would likely be an uphill battle. 'In immigration cases, the burden is on the person trying to enter to show why they should be allowed to enter,' Veronica Cardenas told CNN. 'Essentially, immigration officers really don't have a bar to prove anything.' Dozens of supporters protested Monday evening in support of Alawieh outside the Rhode Island State House in Providence. Some of their signs read, 'Dr. Rasha Has Rights,' and, 'Bring Back Dr. Alawieh: We Need Her Here.' While Brown Medicine has declined to comment on the legal dispute, some staff members called Alawieh an important colleague. 'We had a nationwide search (and) she was the best candidate for the job medically, and her absence will be a loss for the men, women and children in our state who have chronic kidney disease and will have kidney transplants,' Dr. Douglas Shemin, who recruited Alawieh to Brown, told CNN affiliate WFXT. 'She's only one of three transplant nephrologists in the state of Rhode Island, and her absence will be felt deeply,' said Dr. Susie Hu, interim director of the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension at Brown Medicine. Alawieh treated dozens of patients daily, Hu told WFXT. Kidney transplant recipients require lifelong aftercare and are at a higher risk of developing complications because their medications suppress the immune system. 'Rasha is the sweetest person; we've never had an issue with her in any way,' Dr. Paul Morrissey, the director of Brown's transplant program, told WCVB. 'She's an outstanding physician, outstanding person. She's a pleasure to work with, and we're horrified by this entire event.' CNN's Gloria Pazmino and Chelsea Bailey contributed to this report.
