New York, N.Y.  Yesterday, Dr. Rasha Alawieh filed an amended lawsuit challenging the legality of her expedited removal by border agents at the Boston Logan International Airport on March 14, 2025. She was one of only three transplant nephrologists in the state of Rhode Island and sought to return to the United States to resume providing life-saving and life-changing care to vulnerable patients there. Instead, border agents cancelled her employment-based visa by hand and subjected her to expedited removal, notwithstanding a court order forbidding her removal from the District of Massachusetts. 

Dr. Alawieh’s amended lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of two things: (1) the authority and role of the unappointed CBP officers who carried out her expedited removal and (2) their use of the expedited removal process, instead of referring the case to an immigration court. For Dr. Alawieh—someone with over six-and-a-half years of lawful presence and ties to the United States, seeking to return from brief travel abroad—due process requires the opportunity to be heard by an immigration judge. 

“The Constitution requires that federal officials with significant power over people’s lives be appointed by the President or Department heads, to ensure oversight and accountability for their actions. It requires the government to provide due process and obey court orders. For Dr. Alawieh, a visibly Muslim woman, the government has thumbed its nose at these Constitutional requirements. We hope this lawsuit can right those wrongs and return Dr. Alawieh to the vulnerable patients in Rhode Island who need and deserve her care,” said Golnaz Fakhimi, legal director of Muslim Advocates.   

“Doctors, no matter where they’re from, are an integral part of our communities,” said Dr. Daniel Walden, a resident physician at Brown University who helped launch a petition to bring Dr. Alawieh back home. “Dr. Alawieh is a compassionate healthcare professional who provides much-needed care to our community. She has stood by her patients, her community, and her colleagues, and it’s our turn to stand up for her. We urge the prompt return of Dr. Alawieh so she can continue providing crucial healthcare to Rhode Island.”

Dr. Alawieh is represented by Muslim Advocates and Marzouk Law LLC. 

Additional Information

• Boston Globe
• Rhode Island Current
• Memorandum of law in support of the amended petition and complaint

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Muslim Advocates is a social-justice and legal advocacy organization that works with and for Muslim and other marginalized communities in the U.S. to build community power, dismantle systemic discrimination, and demand shared wellbeing.  Press inquiries for Muslim Advocates can be sent to: [email protected].

Marzouk Law LLC helps individuals and families who call the United States their home and offers representation on a variety of immigration matters, including consular processing and removal proceedings. Press inquiries for Marzouk Law LLC can be sent to: [email protected].