Lebanese Doctor Deported from the U.S. – What’s Nasrallah’s Connection?
A kidney transplant specialist and professor at Brown University’s medical school has arrived in Lebanon after being deported by U.S. authorities just one day after returning from a weeks-long vacation in Lebanon.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), a family source of Dr. Rasha Alawieh (34) stated that U.S. authorities detained her last Thursday at Logan International Airport in Boston. She was questioned by officers from the Department of Homeland Security regarding her participation in the funeral of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, which took place in early February 2025.
As reported by AFP, Alawieh admitted to attending the funeral procession on a roadway but not the official ceremony held at Beirut’s Sports City. She also acknowledged her support for Hezbollah, and U.S. authorities reportedly found evidence of this on her personal phone, leading them to classify her as a Hezbollah sympathizer.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Alawieh’s deportation in a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The deportation decision contradicts a judicial ruling that prevents U.S. visa holders from being immediately expelled from the country. A federal judge in Boston scheduled a private hearing and requested information on whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection had deliberately violated his order.
