Deported Brown University professor had 'sympathetic photos' of Hezbollah leaders on her phone, DOJ says [View all]

Source: Politico

Deported Brown University professor had ‘sympathetic photos’ of Hezbollah leaders on her phone, DOJ says
The government’s explanation for Rasha Alawieh’s deportation came before a judge postponed a hearing on whether it defied a judge’s order that she not be deported without advance notice to the court.

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By Josh Gerstein
03/17/2025 10:17 AM EDT
Updated: 03/17/2025 12:35 PM EDT

BOSTON — Federal authorities say they deported a Lebanese doctor holding an American visa last week after finding “sympathetic photos and videos” of prominent Hezbollah figures in a deleted items folder on her cell phone.

Rasha Alawieh, a physician specializing in kidney transplants and professor at Brown University, also told Customs and Border Protection agents that while visiting Lebanon last month she attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and followed his teachings “from a religious perspective” but not a political one, according to an official report on her interrogation by an immigration officer. ... “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 court filing Monday.

The claims in court filings submitted Monday by Justice Department lawyers are the first public explanation of why Alawieh, 34, was deported Friday despite holding a U.S. visa typically issued to foreigners with special skills for a job that an employer claims difficulty finding American candidates to fill.

The assertions about Alawieh’s affinity for Hezbollah came shortly before a federal judge was scheduled to hold a hearing Monday on whether the government defied an order he issued Friday requiring that she not be deported without advance notice to the court. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin postponed the hearing Monday morning just before it was to begin. He gave the government another week to submit further information about what happened with Alawieh.

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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/17/rasha-alawieh-deportation-026038