Homeland Security says professor deported to Lebanon with US visa supported Hezbollah leader

BOSTON (AP) — Homeland Security officials on Monday said that a doctor from Lebanon who was deported over the weekend despite having a U.S. visa “openly admitted” to supporting a Hezbollah leader and attending his funeral.

The department's statement, posted on social media, provides a possible explanation for Dr. Rasha Alawieh's deportation, which has sparked widespread alarm, especially after a federal judge ordered that she not be removed until a hearing could be held. Government lawyers have said customs officials did not get word until after 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 its statement.

It’s the latest deportation of a foreign-born person with a U.S. visa, after Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who helped lead protests of the Gaza war at Columbia University, was arrested and a doctoral student's visa was revoked. The Trump administration also transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations.

Stephanie Marzouk, Alawieh’s lawyer, said she would not stop fighting to get the 34-year-old doctor back in the U.S., “to see her patients where she should be.”

Marzouk did not immediately return a request for comment surrounding Homeland Security’s allegations that Alawieh supported a Hezbollah leader.

The Justice Department has also detailed its reasons for deporting Alawieh in court filings, but a federal judge has sealed those documents.

News outlets that obtained those records before they were sealed reported that Alawieh had photos on her phone of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militant group for the past three decades. The Boston Globe reported she also had pictures of Hezbollah “fighters and martyrs” on her phone.

“According to Dr. Alawieh, she follows him for his religious and spiritual teachings and not his politics," the court documents stated.

When asked why she deleted the photos days before arriving in Boston, Alawieh allegedly told officers: “Because I didn’t want the perception. But I know I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not related to anything politically or militarily.”

Alawieh was granted the visa on March 11 and arrived at Boston Logan International Airport on Thursday, according to a complaint filed on her behalf by a cousin in federal court.

Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist who previously worked and lived in Rhode Island, was detained at least 36 hours, the complaint said. She was to start work at Brown University as an assistant professor of medicine.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin issued an order Friday that an in-person hearing be scheduled Monday, with Alawieh brought to court.

On Saturday, the cousin filed a motion saying customs officials “willfully” disobeyed the order by sending Alawieh back to Lebanon.

Lawyers for the government said in a court filing Monday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Boston airport did not receive notice of the order until she “had already departed the United States,” the judge noted. They asked that the petition be dismissed.

Alawieh worked at Brown prior to the issuance of her H1B visa, the complaint said. It said she has held fellowships and residencies at three universities in the U.S.

A spokesperson for Brown said Alawieh is an employee of Brown Medicine with a clinical appointment to Brown.

Brown Medicine is a not-for-profit medical practice that is its own organization and serves its own patients directly. It is affiliated with Brown University's medical school.

On Monday, a handful of Alawieh’s colleagues stood outside Boston’s federal courthouse to support her.

“She is one of three transplant nephrologists in the entire state of Rhode Island, which, you know, also serves the parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut,” said Dr. Susie Hu. “Her absence is really detrimental to our program.”

Dr. Douglas Shemin, who said he hired Alawieh at Brown Medicine, called her an “outstanding” clinician, physician and teacher who eagerly put in long hours without complaining.

Brown Medicine has roughly 300 to 400 patients awaiting kidney transplants, according to Shemin. Each needs regular evaluations.

More than 100 people gathered in the rain outside the Rhode Island Statehouse on Monday evening to rally in support of Alawieh, holding signs reading “Dr. Rasha Has Rights” and “We cannot tolerate this!”

Dr. Paul Morrissey, director of the organ transplantation division at Brown, said at the rally that he was shocked that Alawieh was deported and that patients will experience a delay in care because of it.

“Rasha is a first-class human being — a very talented physician — and it will be America’s loss if we can’t have her back in Rhode Island,” he said.

Speaking at the rally, Brown University student Kai Blades called the deportation part of a broader pattern of political repression.

“We’re here to stand in opposition to deportations, in opposition to racism and in opposition to the fascist state terror that has been used not only against our beloved community member Rasha, but others like Mahmoud Khalil,” Blades said. “We are here to stay. We’re going to stand up for our community and we’re going to be as loud as possible when they’re under attack."

Dr. Mindy Saboda, an internal medicine colleague, said Alawieh had been returning to the U.S. after visiting family in Lebanon for the first time in six years.

Her daughter, Ada Sobota-Walden, a high school student, called the deportation upsetting.

“We need to stand up when things like this happen because otherwise they’ll keep happening,” Sobota-Walden said.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, requested Monday that he be released on bail or returned to New York from a Louisiana detention facility.

In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers wrote that the treatment of Khalil meant “every noncitizen must wonder whether they will face retaliation for engaging in speech on issues of public concern or critical of the U.S. government.” It seemed designed to “prevent Mr. Khalil — and many others — from speaking in this country at all,” they added.

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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire, and Kruesi reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press journalist Larry Neumeister in New York also contributed.

Protesters rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Protesters rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A protester holds a "Freeze I.C.E." sign during a rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025 in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Protesters rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Protesters rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Protesters rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Protesters rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Protesters rally outside the Rhode Island State House in support of deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

People walk past the the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Attorney Stephanie Marzouk, who represents deported Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, speaks to reporters outside the Moakley Federal Courthouse, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

FILE - Pedestrians make their way past a building housing the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Jan. 30, 2019, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — More drops for AI stocks dragged the U.S. market lower Wednesday, and Wall Street sank to its fourth straight loss.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% for its worst day in nearly a month, though it’s still not far from its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 228 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.8%.

Slightly more stocks rose within the S&P 500 than fell, but they got drowned out by the drops for companies in the artificial-intelligence industry.

Questions continue to dog the former superstars about whether their yearslong dominance of Wall Street meant their prices shot too high, as well as whether all the investment in AI will produce enough profit and productivity to prove worth the cost. Worries are also rising about the debt that some companies are taking on to pay for it all.

Broadcom dropped 4.5%, Oracle fell 5.4% and CoreWeave sank 7.1%. Nvidia, the chip company that’s become Wall Street’s most influential stock because of its tremendous size, fell 3.8% and was the day's heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

Power companies that jumped earlier in the year on expectations for stronger demand from electricity-sucking data centers also lost some of their shine. Constellation Energy fell 6.7%.

Only 17% of respondents in a survey of relatively big businesses by UBS said they’re in production at scale with their AI projects. That could be “a reminder for tech investors to remain sober about the likely 2026 revenue growth uplift from AI products,” according to UBS analysts, though the rate continues to rise.

Also on the losing end of Wall Street was Lennar, which sank 4.5% following a mixed profit report. The homebuilder delivered a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its revenue topped expectations.

Executive Chairman Stuart Miller said that conditions remain challenging, with customers feeling less confident while looking for discounts and more affordable options. As a result, the company gave limited forecasts for its upcoming financial performance.

Progressive, meanwhile, fell 2% after the insurer based in Mayfield Village, Ohio, said that its net income for November fell 5% from its year-ago level.

On the winning side of Wall Street were oil companies, after President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela. It’s Trump’s latest escalation against Venezuela, which may be sitting on more oil than any other country.

That sent the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude higher by 1.2% to $55.94. just a day after it sank to its lowest level since 2021. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 1.3% to $59.68 per barrel.

That in turn helped ConocoPhillips rise 4.6% and cut into its loss for the year so far, which came into the day at 8.5%. Devon Energy rallied 5.3%, and Exxon Mobil climbed 2.4%.

Oil prices had dropped through most of this year on expectations that companies are pumping more than enough crude to meet the world’s demand.

Netflix added 0.2% after Warner Bros. Discovery’s board said it still recommends shareholders approve a buyout offer from the streaming giant for its Warner Bros. business, rather than a competing hostile bid from Paramount Skydance for the entire company.

Warner Bros. Discovery fell 2.4%, while Paramount Skydance dropped 5.4%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 78.83 points to 6,721.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 228.29 to 47,885.97, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 418.14 to 22,693.32.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of a report coming on Thursday that will show how bad inflation has been for U.S. consumers.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.15%, where it was late Tuesday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi leaped 1.4% for one of the world’s bigger gains and shaved its loss for the week so far down to 2.7%.

AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Dilip Patel, right, and Bobby Charmak, left, work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader stands near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)