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(BOSTON) — A doctor who was arriving in the United States to teach medicine was detained at Boston’s Logan International Airport on March 13, according to legal documents obtained by ABC News.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh had a valid H1B visa, or work visa, that had been issued on March 11. A Lebanese citizen, she was employed by Brown University as an assistant professor of medicine.
A kidney transplant specialist, Alawieh had also previously trained at both the University of Washington and Yale University.
The legal filing claimed that Brown’s Division of Nephrology was “extremely distressed.”
“She is an assistant professor and has serious responsibilities,” the document attested. “Her colleagues have been covering for her, but that is no solution. Dr. Alawieh is an outstanding academic in Transplant Nephrology, and she is needed at Brown Medicine.”
Also according to the legal documents, DHS officials gave no reason for her detention.
Customs and Border Protection did not respond to ABC News’ questions regarding her whereabouts and did not disclose why she was denied entry into the U.S.
However, Hilton Beckham, CBP’s Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs, shared a statement saying, “Arriving aliens bear the burden of establishing admissibility to the United States. Our CBP Officers adhere to strict protocols to identify and stop threats, using rigorous screening, vetting, strong law enforcement partnerships, and keen inspectional skills to keep threats out of the country. CBP is committed to protecting the United States from national security threats.”
A U.S. district court judge in Massachusetts ordered that Alawieh should not be deported without 48 hours’ notice and a reason why from DHS.
Instead, according to a notice of apparent violation, DHS “willfully” disregarded the court order and deported Alawieh to France, with a scheduled flight to continue on to Lebanon. It is unconfirmed if that deportation took place as planned.
The next hearing is Monday morning.
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