The department's statement, posted on social media, provides a possible explanation for the deportation of the 34-year-old Dr. Rasha Alawieh, whose removal from the U.S. has sparked widespread alarm, especially after a federal judge ordered that she not be sent back until there was a hearing. Government lawyers have said customs officials did not get word in time before Alawieh was sent back to Lebanon.
“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,” Homeland Security said in their statement.
The Department of Justice has also detailed their reasons for deporting Alawieh in court filings, but those documents have been sealed from the public by a federal judge. News outlets that were able to obtain those records before they were sealed report that Alawieh had photos of Hassan Nasrallah — the leader of the Lebanese terrorist group for the past three decades — on her phone.
