US Deports a Top Doctor for Thought Crimes

By Al-Ahed News, Agencies

In a blatant display of political persecution and state-sponsored suppression of free expression, the US government has forcibly deported Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a highly regarded kidney transplant specialist and assistant professor at Brown University’s medical school.

The Trump administration’s disgraceful handling of the case was punctuated by a crude and mocking farewell, as the official White House account reposted a Department of “Homeland Security” [DHS] statement with the phrase “Bye-bye Rasha,” alongside an image of former President Donald Trump waving from a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Dr. Alawieh, an H-1B visa holder, was detained at Boston Logan Airport on March 13 upon returning from Lebanon. During a CBP interrogation, she admitted to attending Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral for religious reasons and deleting photos to avoid misinterpretation. Despite a court order halting her removal, DHS rushed her deportation, claiming CBP had not received the order in time—a blatant disregard for judicial oversight.

Dr. Alawieh's deportation was carried out despite a federal court order that should have temporarily halted her removal. The US Department of "Justice" later claimed that CBP officials were not made aware of the order in time, a weak excuse that demonstrates either incompetence or willful defiance of judicial oversight. Stephanie Marzouk, her attorney, has vowed to continue fighting for justice, while hundreds of supporters—including colleagues from Brown University—gathered in Rhode Island to protest against this unjust expulsion.

Her case reflects a broader crackdown on dissenting voices. Just recently, Columbia University student Ranjani Srinivasan was forced to leave the US after her visa was revoked for supporting Palestine. Meanwhile, Brown University warned international staff and students about the risks of travel, and hundreds protested Dr. Alawieh’s unjust expulsion.

This pattern of targeting intellectuals and students for their political views underscores the racist and undemocratic nature of Trump’s immigration policies. By silencing dissent, the US government is violating its own First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression.