The man behind the “Trump Burger” — a Texas restaurant that once rode the wave of Donald Trump’s populist brand into viral notoriety — has been detained by immigration authorities, making him the second MAGA-themed restaurateur to face deportation in as many months.
Iyad Muhammad Abuelhawa, 55, a Jordanian citizen better known locally as Eddie Hawa, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on June 2. ICE confirmed the arrest only this month, the Fayette County Record reported. His former business partner, Roland Beainy, was detained by ICE agents in May.
Federal officials say Abuelhawa has lived in the United States illegally for 16 years, defying a deportation order issued in 2009. His record includes convictions for health care fraud and drug misbranding, after prosecutors accused him of administering fake flu shots to more than 1,600 people in Houston. He has also been convicted of assault and intimidation in unrelated cases.
“While in the U.S. illegally, Abuelhawa has repeatedly put the lives of innocent Americans in jeopardy,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement, adding that his detention reflects the administration’s vow to restore “integrity” to immigration enforcement.
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Abuelhawa’s attorneys have countered that he suffers from diabetes and heart problems and has been denied proper medical care inside the Montgomery processing center in Conroe, Texas. Homeland Security officials have rejected that claim, saying detainees receive adequate treatment.
After his release from prison, Abuelhawa reinvented himself as a restaurateur. In 2016, as Trump’s campaign gathered momentum, he rebranded his Bellville café into a cheeky homage to the candidate, serving oversized burgers under the name Trump Café. The concept grew into Trump Burger, featuring creations like the “Trump Tower Burger” — a one-pound stack of Angus beef topped with jalapeños, onion rings, and “homage” sauce.
The menu also mocked Trump’s rival, offering a satirical “Biden Burger,” advertised as undersized, overpriced, and unavailable “because of cheating and inflation.”
The restaurants drew both loyalists and detractors, eventually expanding across the Houston area. But disputes between Abuelhawa and Beainy over ownership landed them in court. Now, as both men face deportation proceedings, their burger empire may dissolve alongside the political moment that inspired it.
