Dr. Raisha Alawieh, an assistant professor at Brown University, was deported to Lebanon on Friday, despite holding a valid H-1B visa and a court order that was meant to prevent her deportation.

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Alawieh was detained at Boston Logan International Airport upon her return to the US from Lebanon on Thursday. Court records indicate that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not provide any justification for her detention.

Also read: ‘Feared for my life’: How Columbia student Ranjani Srinivasan dodged immigration officials before ‘self-deporting’

On the same day, US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin issued an order requiring authorities to give 48 hours' notice before deporting her. However, she was still removed from the country. Her attorney said that she was first sent to Paris and then placed on a second flight to Lebanon, where she arrived on Sunday.

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Who is Dr. Raisha Alawieh?

Alawieh has been working in the Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension at Brown University since July 2024. She held the position of assistant professor at Brown Medicine. Her H-1B visa, sponsored by Brown Medicine, was valid until mid-2027. She completed her medical degree at the American University of Beirut in 2015 and finished her residency there in 2018. She previously undertook medical programmes at Ohio State University, the University of Washington, and the Yale Waterbury Internal Medicine Program on a J-1 visa before joining Brown Medicine.

Government’s justification and legal dispute

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Federal authorities claimed they deported Alawieh after finding “sympathetic photos and videos” of Hezbollah figures in the deleted files on her phone. She allegedly told CBP officers that she had attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah while visiting Lebanon and supported him “from a religious perspective” but not politically.

Also read: WATCH | Trump administration deports over 250 'gang members' despite judge's ruling to halt it

“CBP questioned Dr. Alawieh and determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Sady wrote in a legal filing. Alawieh’s attorneys accused the government of “willfully” ignoring the judge’s order to keep her in the country.

“These allegations are supported by a detailed and specific timeline in an under-oath affidavit filed by an attorney. The government shall respond to these serious allegations with a legal and factual response setting forth its version of events,” Judge Sorokin said.

The government, however, argued that CBP officers did not receive notice of the court order until after Alawieh had already been deported.

Deportation crackdown

Alawieh’s deportation follows an ongoing federal crackdown on immigration cases, particularly on college campuses. Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who recently graduated from Columbia University, was also detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, “Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again. If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here.”

(With inputs from agencies)