Unauthorized Trump Burger founders get bit by karma and a visit from ICE

Weeks after the co-founder of a Trump-themed restaurant chain faced possible deportation, the man’s associate was similarly detained by ICE as his own criminal background caught up to him.

The unauthorized use of President Donald Trump’s name and likeness was hardly the only trouble confronting the co-founders of the Houston, Texas-area Trump Burger. Now, less than three weeks after Lebanese-born Ronald Beainy was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleged Jordanian citizen Iyah Abuelhawa was dealing with his own detainer, having failed to leave the country in 2009.

According to a report from the Houston Chronicle, Abuelhawa had been ordered to be deported from the United States in September 2009, a claim disputed by his attorney, Jennifer Lopez.

Without elaborating, Lopez contended that the government had opted to keep the illegal alien in the country “to multiple agencies’ benefit.” Of course, the attorney also lamented the conditions her client was being held in and disputed the man’s origin as the Chronicle reported, “ICE alleged Abuelhawa was Israeli-born but held Jordanian citizenship. This, Lopez said, was false: Abuelhawa, who is Palestinian, is stateless.”

What was not in dispute regarding the man who had been arrested on June 2 was, as detailed to HuffPost by an ICE spokesperson, “While in the U.S. illegally, Abuelhawa has repeatedly put the lives of innocent Americans in jeopardy. In 2007, he was convicted of healthcare fraud and misbranding of a drug for dangerously injecting 1,600 Houston-area residents with fake flu shots. In 2000, he was convicted of assault, and in 201,8 he was convicted of intimidation.”

As for the Texas chain using the president’s name, likeness and names of his family members that had previously faced criticism from the Chronicle and other outlets, it was reported that the co-founder had allegedly used the alias Eddie Hawa to remain in the country as he rebranded his Bellville Cafe into the Trump Cafe in 2016 alongside his wife, Suad “Sue” Hamedah.

Failure of the business a year later preempted the 2020 joint venture with Beainy as Trump Burger began and grew to four locations. Beainy, facing a lawsuit from the landlord of the Kemah, Texas location’s landlord Archie Patterson, who had rebranded the site to MAGA Burger, had himself been detained on May 16 and then released on June 13 and is facing a hearing on November 18 regarding his immigration status as it was suggested his marriage was a “sham,” according to the Daily Mail.

Amid the issues of the co-founders’ legal statuses, the Department of Homeland Security refuted claims by Lopez that her client, who has diabetes and a heart condition, isn’t getting necessary treatment and said in a statement to HuffPost that, “any claim that detainees are not being provided with proper medical care are FALSE.”

“This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives. Meals are certified by dietitians,” added the spokesperson. “Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE.”

Where the Trump name was concerned, the Trump Organization had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Beainy demanding an end to the use of Trump’s name and likeness without authorization in February.

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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