United States President Donald Trump stirred up fresh controversy after the White House posted a photo of Trump waving. This was in response to the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) post regarding a Lebanese doctor, Dr Rasha Alawieh, who was deported over the weekend despite having a US visa.
https://t.co/w0M8TLPvDG pic.twitter.com/bHsCz4zHWi
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 17, 2025
In the X post, DHS said Alawieh had “openly admitted” to supporting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and attending his funeral too.
According to the post, she admitted this to the CBP officers.
Last month, Rasha Alawieh traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah— a brutal terrorist who led Hezbollah, responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade terror spree. Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 17, 2025
“A visa is a privilege not a right—glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied. This is commonsense security,” it added.
In response, the White House shared a photo of Trump waving from a drive-through window, along with another post which said ‘Bye-Bye Rasha’.
According to Reuters, the Rhode Island doctor was granted an H-1B visa to work as an assistant professor at Brown University’s medical school. She was deported despite a federal judge issuing an order blocking her immediate removal from the country.
Bye-bye, Rasha 👋 https://t.co/w0M8TLPvDG
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 17, 2025
This is the most recent deportation of a foreign national with a US visa, following the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who led Gaza war protests at Columbia University, and the revocation of a doctoral student’s visa.
‘Wouldn’t Stop Fighting For Alawieh’
Stephanie Marzouk, Alawieh’s lawyer, said she would not stop fighting to get the doctor back in the US, “to see her patients where she should be.”
The Justice Department has outlined its reasons for deporting Alawieh in court filings, which a federal judge has since sealed. According to the Associated Press (AP) the records before the seal indicated that Alawieh’s phone contained images of Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of the Lebanese militant group, along with pictures of Hezbollah “fighters and martyrs.”
A spokesperson for Brown stated that Alawieh is an employee of Brown Medicine with a clinical appointment at Brown. Brown Medicine is an independent, not-for-profit medical practice that directly serves its own patients and is affiliated with Brown University’s medical school.
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