19-03-2025
Deported R.I. doctor was in ‘precarious position' arriving at Logan, expert says
Although she could have refused to let immigration authorities access her cellphone, that could have given authorities grounds to deny her admission to the country, said Deborah S. Gonzalez, director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the Roger Williams University School of Law.
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'She was in a precarious position, no question about that,' said Gonzalez, a clinical professor of law who is not involved in Alawieh's case.
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On Monday, federal authorities
'Arriving aliens bear the burden of establishing admissibility to the United States,' said Hilton Beckham, assistant public affairs commissioner for US Customs and Border Protection. Immigration officers 'adhere to strict protocols to identify and stop threats,' she said. 'CBP is committed to protecting the United States from national security threats.'
Gonzalez said she knows of no other high-profile cases where immigration authorities have deported someone because of photos found on their phone or attendance at a funeral.
'But we are living in a different world now,' Gonzalez said as the Trump administration
She said immigration officials will look at social media posts and seek access to phones.
'I can only imagine the memes I have on my phone of Donald Trump that could lead someone to think that I believe in the political ideology of Donald Trump, which I absolutely do not,' Gonzalez said.
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She said American citizens are protected by
the Constitution, which includes the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech, while non-citizens do not have that protection.
But she also noted that earlier this month immigration agents
'I am worried about our First Amendment rights,' Gonzalez said. 'We will see if I get arrested for my comments on the Donald Trump memes.'
On Sunday, after Alawieh was deported,
'Potential changes in travel restrictions and travel bans, visa procedures and processing, re-entry requirements, and other travel-related delays may affect travelers' ability to return to the U.S. as planned,' Russell C. Carey, Brown's executive vice president for planning and policy, wrote in an email.
Gonzalez said she agrees with Brown University's guidance. 'My advice to anyone who is here on a non-immigrant visa: Don't travel, don't leave,' she said.
With an
Although H-1B visas allow a person such as Alawieh to work in the United States, 'every time that person goes out of the country, that admission needs to happen yet again,' Gonzalez said.
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Under the
Last week, lawyers from a Washington, D.C., law firm became involved in Alawieh's case, representing her cousin Yara Chehab. But they withdrew from the case on Monday, and said that 'due to the expedited nature of the proceedings counsel had not completed diligence.'
Gonzalez said she does not know why those lawyers withdrew. But, she said, 'When someone is removed under expedited removal, there is really no appeal. That is not judicially reviewable.'
Stephanie Marzouk, an immigration lawyer who is still representing Alawieh's cousin, told the Globe on Tuesday, 'I can't comment right now.'
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
