On Tuesday, a federal appeals court upheld a district judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the decision to deport Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor of medicine.
Alawieh was deported to Lebanon in March 2025, despite having a valid H-1B visa and a court order requiring 48 hours’ notice before her removal. She had just returned from a trip to Lebanon and had admitted that she attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah while there. Hezbollah has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the federal government.
During questioning with a Customs and Border Patrol officer at Boston Logan International Airport, where Alawieh was stopped upon arrival, she said she attended the funeral out of support from a religious perspective rather than a political one.
She admitted to knowing the group was designated a terrorist organization and stated that she has no political or military affiliation with them.
The original suit, which was filed in May 2025 by Alawieh’s attorneys, disputed the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for their role in Alawieh's removal and expedited deportation process.
Alawieh’s cousin filed the habeas corpus petition one day after she was prevented from entering the country, which was later amended by Alawieh’s attorneys from Muslim Advocates and Marzouk Law. The suit claimed that Alawieh’s expedited removal violated the Constitution, asking the court to declare the revocation of Alawieh’s H-1B visa as a procedural violation and ordering due process before an immigration judge.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin dismissed the case in fall 2025.
According to the brief written by Senior Judge Sandra Lynch, the court does not have “jurisdiction to review (Alawieh’s) claims” because “the Immigration and Naturalization Act has barred judicial review of such orders, and Alawieh does not fit within the statutory exception.”
The First Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in an email to The Herald that they had no comment regarding the decision.
Alawieh, who worked at Rhode Island Hospital, was one of three transplant nephrologists in Rhode Island prior to her removal. Her H-1B visa was sponsored by Brown Medicine.
Samah Hamid is a section editor covering faculty and career & alumni. She is from Sharon, Massachusetts is concentrating in Biology and Middle Eastern Studies. In her free time, you can find her taking a nap, reading, or baking a sweet treat.
