The inventor of the “Trump Burger” has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — making him the second MAGA-loving restaurateur to face deportation.
Iyad Muhammad Abuelhawa, 55, who owned the original Trump Burger restaurant in Bellville, Texas, was arrested by ICE agents on June 2.
His former business partner, Roland Beainy, was taken into custody by ICE a month earlier. Both arrests were only made public by ICE this month, the Fayette County Record reported Thursday.
Abuelhawa had previously served time in federal prison for health care fraud and drug misbranding, an ICE spokesperson told the newspaper. He is accused of staying in the U.S. illegally for the past 16 years despite receiving a deportation order in 2009.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
“In 2000, he was convicted of assault and in 2018 he was convicted of intimidation. As a result of the current administration’s focus on restoring integrity to our nation’s immigration laws, he was arrested by ICE on June 2 and will no longer be free to endanger anyone in the U.S. again.”
Abuelhawa, who is a Jordanian citizen, was supposed to be deported following his time in prison but had managed to stay in the U.S.
He is being held at the Montgomery processing center in Conroe, Texas. Abuelhawa’s attorneys told the Houston Chronicle that he is suffering from diabetes and heart issues, and has been denied insulin and blood sugar monitoring.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has denied those claims.
“Any claim that detainees are not being provided with proper medical care is FALSE,” a DHS spokesperson told HuffPost. “This is the best health care many aliens have received in their entire lives. Meals are certified by dietitians. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE.”
Following his release from prison, Abuelhawa made headlines under his Americanized name, Eddie Hawa.
When Donald Trump was in the middle of his campaign for president in 2016, Abuelhawa rebranded his restaurant. The Bellville Cafe, which served French cuisine, became a viral sensation, peddling burgers and fries under its new name, “Trump Cafe.”
After the first location shuttered in 2017, Abuelhawa opened a second MAGA-branded restaurant, Trump Burger, in 2020 with Beainy as his business partner, according to the Record.
Diners at Trump Burger can enjoy an array of burgers and sandwiches, including the Trump Tower Burger, which is in tribute to the president’s storied Manhattan apartment complex. The burger boasts 16oz (or 1lb) of Aberdeen Angus beef patties, grilled onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, two slices of white American cheese, onion rings and “homage” barbecue and sriracha sauce.
There’s also a Biden Burger, which consists of just 1oz (0.06lb) of beef, “old tomato “and our oldest buns, and is preposterously expensive at $50.99. However, it is not actually available because of “cheating and inflation,” according to the menu.
The pair went on to open several other locations of the Trump-inspired burger chain in the Houston area before having a falling out. They remain entangled in a lawsuit over ownership of one of the Trump Burger locations, though the suit may be a moot point as ICE looks to boot both men from the country.
Beainy was accused of overstaying in the U.S. in 2019 on a non-immigrant visitor visa, which required him to leave by February 12, 2024.
The 28-year-old Lebanese national was also accused of attempting to get legal immigration status through a “sham” marriage.
At the time of his arrest, DHS officials said enforcement applies “regardless of what restaurant you own or political beliefs you might have” — even if you are a fan of the president.
Beainy was released on bond on June 13 pending court proceedings.
