Colleagues react to deportation of Brown Medicine doctor from Lebanon
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Protestors gathered outside the Rhode Island State House Monday night in support of Dr. Rasha Alawieh.
Alawieh was a kidney transplant specialist at Brown Medicine and was deported back to Lebanon despite having a U.S. visa.
Homeland Security officials said Alawieh was deported after she admitted to supporting a Hezbollah leader and attending his funeral.
Dr. Paul Morrissey worked closely with her in the kidney transplant department at Brown Medicine.
“Dr. Alawieh was phenomenal,” Morrissey said. “She spent five years training in the United States, taking care of thousands of patients, and we were lucky to recruit her to Brown and take care of people in Rhode Island.”
Dr. Douglas Shemin said he hired Alawieh in May 2024 after a nationwide search for the right fit.
“The real people that may lose a lot here are the men, women and children in the State of Rhode Island who have chronic kidney disease and are awaiting a kidney transplant or have received a kidney transplant,” Shemin said.
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that Alawieh traveled to Lebanon last month to attend the funeral of a Hezbollah leader.
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,” the department said in a social media post.
Still, many protesters believe Alawieh did nothing wrong, and those who worked with her said she always handled herself in a professional manner.
“Like all of us, we take care of patients from every religion, every walk of life, makes no difference to us,” Shemin said. “We take care of everyone and that’s what she did as well.”
As the director of Brown Medicine’s transplant program, Morrissey emphasized the impact of Alawieh’s absence.
“There’s only four people in Rhode Island who do what Rasha does in terms of her level of expertise,” Morrissey said. “Now there are three.”
A spokesperson for Brown University Health released the following statement:
“The safety and well-being of our employees and patients remain our top priority. We want to assure the public that there will be no disruption to patient care as we continue to assess the situation. We strongly encourage international staff members, including U.S. visa holders and permanent residents (i.e., ‘green card holders’), to consider postponing or delaying any travel outside the United States until further information regarding reentry requirements, restrictions, and travel bans becomes available. As this remains an evolving situation of a personal nature, we are unable to provide further comment at this time.”
A court hearing in the matter was postponed until next week.
