Judge orders Trump admin to explain deportation of Rhode Island doctor

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
17 Mar 2025 09:05
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A federal judge has directed the Trump administration to address allegations that US immigration authorities "willfully disobeyed" a court order halting the deportation of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese citizen and H-1B visa holder.

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Guadalupe H. Ramirez, director of field operations for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Tucson field office, left, briefs Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Mariposa Port of Entry, on March 15, 2025, in Nogales, Arizona. (AP)

A federal judge directed the Trump administration on Sunday to address claims that US immigration authorities "willfully disobeyed" a court order preventing the deportation of a Rhode Island doctor.

According to court records, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese citizen with an H-1B visa, was taken into custody last week upon arriving at Boston’s airport.

Federal Judge Leo T. Sorokin issued an order on Friday evening requiring 48 hours notice before Alawieh's deportation in response to a petition from her cousin. However, despite the order, Alawieh was placed on a flight to Paris, where she remained in detention as of Saturday.

The timeline between the issuance of the order and her departure remains unclear. However, attorneys for her cousin, Yara Chehab, argued in a court filing that the government had received "actual notice" and had "willfully disobeyed" the directive. The filing also stated that Alawieh was scheduled to fly to Lebanon on Sunday.

Assistant Professor of Medicine #RashaAlawieh was detained at Boston Logan International Airport on Thursday after returning from a visit to her family in #Lebanon.

A family member, upon learning she would be deported on Friday, reached out to her attorneys, according to a… pic.twitter.com/RHKZBsWUph
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 16, 2025

The Trump administration has not explained Alawieh’s detention or her removal despite the court order. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment, while the State Department stated it could not discuss individual cases.

In a court filing on Sunday, Sorokin instructed the government to respond by Monday morning to the "serious allegations" of intentionally violating the order.

In his earlier ruling, Sorokin had stated that Alawieh could not be moved outside Massachusetts without 48 hours' prior notice and an explanation, allowing more time to review her case.

On Sunday, Sorokin reaffirmed that his order followed "common practice in this district as it has been for years."

According to a complaint filed Friday, Brown University sponsored Alawieh’s visa after she was offered an assistant professorship.

Even though her petition was approved in June, she was unable to obtain her visa until March 11, per the filing. Before this, she was in the US on a J-1 visa while completing a program at the University of Washington, Ohio State University, and Yale, according to the complaint.

This is not the first instance of the Trump administration attempting to deport individuals who were legally residing in the US. Just a week earlier, federal authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and protest leader, even though he was a legal permanent resident.