Trump admin deports Lebanese H1B visa holder over alleged sympathies to Hezbollah in defiance of court order

The Trump administration deported a Lebanese H1-B visa holder working as a doctor in Rhode Island after federal authorities said that they found "sympathetic photos and videos" of leaders of Hezbollah on her cell phone. The deportation came after a judge had ordered that the doctor not be deported without first giving 48 hours' notice to the court.  

Despite the order, Brown Medicine kidney doctor and Lebanese citizen Dr. Rasha Alawieh had her visa revoked and she was deported on Friday, after being arrested on Thursday according to the Providence Journal. Authorities also found "various other Hezbollah militants" in the deleted photos folder on her cell phone and she had admitted to going to the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, per the New York Post. 

"With the discovery of these photographs and videos CHP questioned Dr. Alawieh and determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined," the authorities alleged in a court filing on her deportation case. "As such CBP canceled her visa and deemed Dr. Alawieh inadmissible to the United States."

Alawieh claimed she was only going to the funeral “from a religious perspective” and not political reasons. US District Judge Leo T Sorokin had issued the Friday order to give the 48 hours' notice to the court regarding her case, but she was back in Lebanon by Sunday morning after departing on Friday night.

Hilton Beckham, who is the assistant commissioner of public affairs for Customs and Border Protection under the Trump admiration said in a statement, “Arriving aliens bear the burden of establishing admissibility to the United States. Our CBP officers adhere to strict protocols to identify and stop threats, using rigorous screening, vetting, strong law enforcement partnerships, and keen inspectional skills to keep threats out of the country. CBP is committed to protecting the United States from national security threats."

While Alawieh was detained, her cousin had filed a complaint to the US District Court, sparking the 48-hour notice order given by Judge Sorokin

Alawieh was returning to the United States on a valid H-1B visa that she had obtained at the US consulate in Lebanon. H-1B visas are often used to allow immigrants with sought-after skills to be employed by a US company. She had been studying and working in the US for six years, and was working in Rhode Island since last July.

Alawieh's lawyers argued in a legal filing “that Customs and Border Patrol received actual notice of the court’s order [giving the court 48 notice before any deportation] and nonetheless thereafter ‘willfully’ disobeyed the order by sending her out of the United States."

In a Sunday order, the judge wrote, "These allegations are supported by a detailed and specific timeline in an under-oath affidavit filed by an attorney." Additionally, Judge Sorokin wrote that federal authorities need to "respond to these serious allegations with a legal and factual response setting forth its version of events."