Summary
The U.S. deported Brown University medical professor Rasha Alawieh to Lebanon despite a judge’s order blocking her removal.
Alawieh, who held a valid work visa, was detained at Boston Logan Airport after visiting family. Judge Leo Sorokin had ordered a hearing and required 48 hours’ notice before deportation, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ignored the directive.
Brown University expressed concern, and faculty reacted with outrage.
This deportation aligns with Trump’s crackdown on immigration and universities, as officials also defied court orders in other deportation cases.
Note that “just following orders” isn’t a valid legal defense. Someone at Customs was responsible for this, and they don’t have an Supreme Court protection for their actions.
And nothing will happen because who’s gonna enforce it.
So is he voiding all work visas now? Or just for people of color? Or based on nationality? Or is he planning to void all visas because “something something American first [racist run-on]”?
Also gotta love the irony of the guy being married to a woman who worked here illegally while waiting on her work visa, now deporting people who followed the law.
