In a case raising questions about the enforcement of US judicial authority, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deported a Rhode Island physician despite a federal court order temporarily halting her removal. Dr Rasha Alawieh, a well-known kidney transplant specialist, was sent to Paris en route to Lebanon, even as legal efforts sought to prevent her expulsion.
Who is Dr Rasha Alawieh?
Dr Rasha Alawieh, a 34-year-old physician and assistant professor, specializes in kidney transplantation at Brown Medicine. She was deported from the United States despite holding a valid visa and a federal court order temporarily blocking her removal.
At Logan airport in Boston, border control officers held Alawieh on Thursday when she came back from a two-week family visit to Lebanon, as confirmed by family acquaintance Merhi and solicitor Thomas Brown, who handles immigration and visa cases for physicians affiliated with Brown Medicine. According to Brown, Alawieh was travelling with a new H-1B visa that she had obtained from the American consulate in Lebanon.
Relatives and friends of the Rhode Island doctor claim that officials were determined to remove her from the country, despite a federal court’s instruction intended to halt her immediate removal from the United States.
The directive was issued on Friday. Simultaneously, a plane carrying her was stationed on the runway at Boston’s Logan International Airport and received clearance for departure. “They (authorities) 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 didn’t do anything wrong,” Dr. Basma Merhi, a close friend and colleague of the deported doctor, stated to The Providence Journal.
Dr Alawieh’s case has sparked significant concern and allegations that US authorities acted in defiance of legal procedures.
Background and employment
Dr. Alawieh had been working at Brown Medicine’s Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension in Rhode Island since July 2024. In her role, she evaluated potential kidney transplant candidates and monitored patients post-procedure according to Dr. George Bayliss, the medical director of the transplant division.
She was also appointed as an assistant professor at Brown Medicine
She earned her medical degree from the American University of Beirut in 2015 and finished her residency in 2018 at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre, according to NBC News. After arriving in the United States with a J-1 visa in 2018, Alawieh undertook programmes at Ohio State University, the University of Washington and the Yale Waterbury Internal Medicine Programme before beginning her position as assistant professor at Brown.
She held a recently issued H-1B visa, a temporary permit allowing highly qualified foreign professionals to work in specialty occupations. According to solicitor Thomas Brown, who handles immigration matters for Brown Medicine-affiliated doctors, the visa was valid until mid-2027 and had been properly issued by the American consulate in Lebanon.
Detention and deportation
Dr Alawieh was detained by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at Boston’s Logan International Airport on Thursday, upon returning from a two-week visit to her family in Lebanon. During her detention, a minor visa-related issue arose but was described as easily resolvable by her legal representatives.
A court petition filed, quoted by NBC New stated, “The Division of Nephrology at Brown Medicine is extremely distressed at this treatment of their colleague.” “She is an assistant professor and has serious responsibilities. Her colleagues have been covering for her, but that is no solution,” it added.
On Friday, her supporters, including her cousin Yara Chehab, filed a complaint in the US District Court for Massachusetts against the Department of Homeland Security and CBP officials. The complaint alleged that Dr Alawieh was being unlawfully detained and that authorities were refusing to allow attorneys access to her or to provide justification for her detention.
Later that day, US District Judge Leo Sorokin issued an order preventing Dr. Alawieh’s deportation without providing the court with 48 hours’ notice. However, despite this directive, Dr Alawieh was placed on a flight to Paris, where she remained in detention awaiting a subsequent flight to Lebanon.
Legal and public reactions
Judge Sorokin issued a second order on Sunday, expressing concern that CBP had “willfully disobeyed” his previous directive and demanding a response from the federal agency regarding the “serious allegations” of noncompliance.
Dr Alawieh’s supporters, including family members and legal representatives, argue that her deportation reflects a deliberate disregard for the judicial process. Dr Basma Merhi, a family friend and associate, emphasized that Alawieh was “being treated like a terrorist” despite being an accomplished physician who had followed all legal requirements for her visa.
The case is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, where further legal action may be considered to address the alleged violation of the court order and to seek Dr Alawieh’s return to the United States.