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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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Brown University issued a travel warning to international students and faculty after a staff member was deported to Lebanon by the Trump administration.
Newsweek reached out to Brown University for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump, who pledged to deport millions of migrants without legal status, has granted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expanded powers to operate at or near sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals and churches.
Read More on Politics
Claims have emerged that the Trump administration is ignoring court orders on deportations and conducting arrests with little transparency. The sharp rise in detentions and deportations has fueled debates over civil liberties and due process.
What To Know
The Trump administration claims that Professor Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese physician at Brown Medicine in Rhode Island, had "openly admitted" to supporting a Hezbollah leader and attending his funeral.
Alawieh, 34, was detained at Boston Logan International Airport on March 13 after returning from a two-week family trip to Lebanon. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents said they uncovered photos of Iran's supreme leader and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Alawieh's phone.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that during her detainment, Alawieh told customs agents she had traveled to Beirut to attend Nasrallah's funeral.
Alawieh, who came to the United States in 2018, held an H-1B visa. A court order was issued to prevent her removal.
The university said its March 16 email, obtained by Newsweek, was sent "out of an abundance of caution." It warned that leaving the country during potential travel bans and changes to reentry requirements "may affect travelers' ability to return to the U.S. as planned."
"We recognize that the federal actions related to travel continue to affect members of our community in deeply personal ways, including concern about family, friends and loved ones," the memo said.
...
Trump is considering implementing travel restrictions for 43 countries, using a three-tiered system to outline different levels of scrutiny for entry into the United States.
Under Trump's proposal, travel restrictions would be divided into three categories with different levels of limitations: red for complete visa suspension, orange for partial visa suspension, and yellow for a probationary period.
The proposed red category includes Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.
Countries in the orange category are Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan.
The yellow category covers Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.
What People Are Saying
Brown University, in its email: "We understand that many in our community are feeling a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety as news media share reports of federal deportation actions against individuals who are non-U.S. citizens. This includes concerning reports affecting our own community of a couple of individuals refused entry upon returning to the United States after international travel and compelled to immediately depart.
"And this comes amid a federal order regarding deportation of non-U.S. citizens from Venezuela, which has been temporarily halted pending a court challenge, as well as reports that the federal administration is planning new travel bans that may affect large numbers of countries."
DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement: "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 support of Nasrallah.
"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."
CBP Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs Hilton Beckham told Newsweek in a statement: "Foreign nationals who promote extremist ideologies or carry terrorist propaganda are inadmissible to the U.S., plain and simple. A visa does not guarantee entry—CBP has the final authority after conducting rigorous security checks.
"Officers act swiftly to deny entry to those who glorify terrorist organizations, advocate violence, or openly support terrorist leaders and commemorate their deaths. Anyone found with extremist materials linked to a U.S.-designated terrorist group will be removed."
What Happens Next
The administration is expected to ramp up ICE arrests as Trump pushes to increase arrest and deportation numbers.
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