Trump officials ordered to court to explain deportation of Ivy League doctor Rasha Alawieh to Lebanon

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A judge has ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to court Monday morning to explain why Ivy League doctor Rasha Alawieh was deported to Lebanon Friday, defying a previous court order.

Alawieh, a Brown Medicine doctor, was detained at Boston’s Logan Airport Thursday after returning from a trip visiting family in Lebanon.

U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin ordered that Alawieh, a Lebanese citizen, not be deported without giving the court 48 hours’ notice but, despite the order, the medic arrived back in Lebanon Sunday morning, the Providence Journal reports.

Alawieh was reportedly on a valid H-1B visa she acquired from the American consulate in Lebanon, according to Thomas S. Brown, a lawyer who works on immigration and visa applications and cases for medics attached to Brown Medicine.

The doctor has studied and worked in the U.S. for six years. She has been working at Rhode Island Hospital for the last year caring for kidney transplant recipients, the transplant division’s medical director Dr George Bayliss said.

The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday morning at the John J. Moakley Courthouse in Boston.

More follows