Brown professor deported to Lebanon after allegedly attending Hezbollah funeral, government says
March 17, 2025, 1:46 PM EDT
By Doha Madani and Melissa Chan
A professor at Brown University’s medical school, who was sent back to Lebanon last week despite having a valid visa, allegedly told customs agents that she attended the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Department of Homeland Security said in a Monday statement.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a 34-year-old Lebanese citizen with a valid H-1B visa, returned to the U.S. after visiting her family, according to the court petition filed by her cousin. She was detained on Thursday at Boston Logan International Airport, where she was allegedly held for 36 hours “without any justification,” during which time she was unable to speak to legal counsel or contact others, the petition states.
Homeland Security alleged on Monday that Alawieh told agents during her detainment that she traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, in order to attend last month's funeral for Nasrallah.
"A visa is a privilege not a right—glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied," the agency said.
NBC News was unable to reach an attorney for Alawieh for comment on Monday.
Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral, which was held at the 48,000-seat Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut.
Nasrallah led Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia and political party, for decades before he was killed by an Israeli strike last year. He was also an Islamic scholar who was seen as a defender of Shia Muslims within Lebanon.
Hezbollah formed in the 1980s after Israel occupied southern Lebanon to oppose Israel's presence in the country and is a U.S.-designated terror group. Nasrallah and Hezbollah's close ties to Iran divided Lebanon, and some critics say its support of Hamas in Gaza helped plunge the country into a war with Israel that it could not afford last year.
The petition states that after her airport detainment, Alawieh was sent back to Lebanon — despite an order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts that she should not be removed from the state without 48 hours' notice and a reason to "give the Court time to consider the matter."
Customs and Border Protection denied accusations it "willfully" disobeyed the court order, according to court records. Federal prosecutors in the case said the CBP officers did not receive notice of the order until Alawieh had already departed.
Prosecutors said that at no time "would CBP not take a court order seriously or fail to abide by a court’s order."
A hearing was set to take place on Monday in Boston, but the case was delayed another week. According to court records, Alawieh also retained new legal counsel, who requested time to catch up on the case on Sunday.