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The Herald Scotland
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Federal judge to hear arguments in Kseniia Petrova case
U.S. Customs and Border Protection canceled Kseniia Petrova's visa in February after she failed to declare scientific samples when she returned to Boston from France, and officers turned her over to ICE. Her attorney argues that CBP's actions were "arbitrary and capricious" and her detention illegal. The Trump administration says it acted within its authority. Petrova "was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country," Homeland Security said in a statement. Here's what to know about Petrova's case. More: She's in ICE detention. From 1,500 miles away, his piano lulls her to sleep. Who is Kseniia Petrova? Petrova, 30, is a top-tier scientist who worked for a Harvard Medical School lab on a J-1 work-study visa, where she conducted anti-aging and cancer research. She is the only one in her lab with the technical skills to analyze data from a one-of-a-kind microscope used to study things like fat cells, which can not be well seen or understood through conventional microscopes. Before coming to Harvard, she was working on her native country's Genome Russia project, mapping the genetic variation of humankind, when she ran afoul of Vladimir Putin's government for protesting Russia's war on Ukraine. She fled, and soon found her way to Harvard and another of the world's important genetics labs. Leon Peshkin, Petrova's supervisor, runs the lab that is working on one of the hottest fields in science: anti-aging research. "I was struggling to find an applied mathematician and who understands biology," Peshkin told USA TODAY - until he found Petrova. "She was a perfect match." What was Kseniia Petrova carrying into the country? Peshkin asked Petrova to pick up samples of frog embryos from the Institut Curie in Paris to bring back to the lab. Previous shipments to the lab had been lost or damaged in transit, so Peshkin thought it would be more efficient if they were hand-carried. Petrova has said she didn't believe she needed to declare the samples because they were not living; they were embedded in paraffin, chemically fixed, dehydrated and are "entirely harmless," according to her complaint in federal district court. In a statement, the government said a K9 inspection of Petrova's luggage "uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits." CBP has a webpage outlining its rules for importing biological materials into the United States. The embryos were "incapable of growing or transmitting disease," Martin Chalfie, chair of the National Academies Committee on Human Rights, which defends scientists detained in connection with their scientific work, said in an amicus brief filed in federal court. "Similar material can be found in high school and college biology laboratories throughout the United States," said Chalfie, a Nobel laureate in chemistry. Why was Kseniia Petrova detained? A U.S. customs officer initially stamped Petrova's passport, affirming her J-1 scholar visa when she landed at Boston's Logan International Airport in February. But at baggage claim, officers flagged her luggage for undeclared items. Typically, CBP seizes items when they aren't properly declared and may issue a fine. In Petrova's case, a customs officer revoked her visa and asked if she wanted to withdraw her application for admission to the United States and return on the next plane to France, according to the complaint. She indicated she would be willing to do so. "At that point," according to the complaint, "the CBP officer asked Petrova: 'Would you like the U.S. government to contact the Russian government to let them know you are here?' followed by, 'Do you have fear or are afraid to return to your home country?'" Petrova said she did fear returning to Russia due to political persecution, according to the complaint. That fear claim triggered an asylum process, according to the complaint; CBP no longer allowed her to return to France, and instead began processing her for expedited removal by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE sent Petrova to a processing center in Vermont, then to the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, where she has been detained for three months. She faces no civil or criminal charges. Petrova's lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Vermont where Reiss presides as chief judge. Who supports Kseniia Petrova? Seventeen U.S. senators sent Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem a letter in March urging ICE to release Petrova while her asylum case is pending. "Absent evidence that Petrova is a flight risk or a danger to the community, we strongly urge you to reconsider ICE's recent decision not to grant Petrova parole and exercise discretion within your authority to release her from detention while her asylum case is pending," they said in the March 31 letter. "Moreover, we are deeply concerned about the possibility that Petrova could face persecution if deported to Russia," the senators said. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell on May 12 filed an affidavit supporting Petrova, saying the administration's high-profile detention of international students threatens the state's economy and the country's global leadership in scientific innovation. "The Trump administration's actions targeting international students and academics sends a chilling message to talented students and academics around the world," Campell wrote, "that they risk detention, deportation and an end to their academic career in the United States at the whims of the federal government." (This story has been updated to add new information.)
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
After 3 months in ICE detention, Kseniia Petrova case heads to court. Here's what to know
After 3 months in ICE detention, Kseniia Petrova case heads to court. Here's what to know A judge will hear the case of Harvard genetics researcher Kseniia Petrova, who has been in ICE custody since February. Show Caption Hide Caption Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrested outside ICE detention facility Newark, NJ mayor and Democratic candidate for governor, Ras Baraka, was reportedly arrested outside of a recently opened immigrant detention center. A lawsuit that could test the limits of the Trump administration's power to detain visa holders, including students and scholars, is poised to go before a federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss will hear arguments May 14 in the case of a Harvard scientist from Russia who alleges the Trump administration wrongfully detained her. U.S. Customs and Border Protection canceled Kseniia Petrova's visa in February after she failed to declare scientific samples when she returned to Boston from France, and officers turned her over to ICE. Her attorney argues that CBP's actions were "arbitrary and capricious" and her detention illegal. The Trump administration says it acted within its authority. Petrova "was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country," Homeland Security said in a statement. Here's what to know about Petrova's case. More: She's in ICE detention. From 1,500 miles away, his piano lulls her to sleep. Who is Kseniia Petrova? Petrova, 30, is a top-tier geneticist who worked for a Harvard Medical School lab on a J-1 work-study visa, where she conducted anti-aging and cancer research. Before coming to Harvard, she was working on her native country's Genome Russia project, mapping the genetic variation of humankind, when she ran afoul of Vladimir Putin's government for protesting Russia's war on Ukraine. She fled, and soon found her way to Harvard and another of the world's important genetics labs. Leon Peshkin, Petrova's supervisor, runs the lab that is working on one of the hottest fields in science: anti-aging research. "I was struggling to find an applied mathematician and who understands biology," Peshkin told USA TODAY – until he found Petrova. "She was a perfect match." What was Kseniia Petrova carrying into the country? Peshkin asked Petrova to pick up samples of frog embryos from the Institut Curie in Paris to bring back to the lab. Previous shipments to the lab had been lost or damaged in transit, so Peshkin thought it would be more efficient if they were hand-carried. Petrova has said she didn't believe she needed to declare the samples because they were not living; they were embedded in paraffin, chemically fixed, dehydrated and are "entirely harmless," according to her complaint in federal district court. In a statement, the government said a K9 inspection of Petrova's luggage "uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits." CBP has a webpage outlining its rules for importing biological materials into the United States. The embryos were "incapable of growing or transmitting disease," Martin Chalfie, chair of the National Academies Committee on Human Rights, which defends scientists detained in connection with their scientific work, said in an amicus brief filed in federal court. "Similar material can be found in high school and college biology laboratories throughout the United States," said Chalfie, a Nobel laureate in chemistry. Why was Kseniia Petrova detained? A U.S. customs officer initially stamped Petrova's passport, affirming her J-1 scholar visa when she landed at Boston's Logan International Airport in February. But at baggage claim, officers flagged her luggage for undeclared items. Typically, CBP seizes items when they aren't properly declared and may issue a fine. In Petrova's case, a customs officer revoked her visa and asked if she wanted to withdraw her application for admission to the United States and return on the next plane to France, according to the complaint. She indicated she would be willing to do so. "At that point," according to the complaint, "the CBP officer asked Petrova: 'Would you like the U.S. government to contact the Russian government to let them know you are here?' followed by, 'Do you have fear or are afraid to return to your home country?'" Petrova said she did fear returning to Russia due to political persecution, according to the complaint. That fear claim triggered an asylum process, according to the complaint; CBP no longer allowed her to return to France, and instead began processing her for expedited removal by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE sent Petrova to a processing center in Vermont, then to the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, where she has been detained for three months. She faces no civil or criminal charges. Petrova's lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Vermont where Reiss presides as chief judge. Who supports Kseniia Petrova? Seventeen U.S. senators sent Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem a letter in March urging ICE to release Petrova while her asylum case is pending. "Absent evidence that Petrova is a flight risk or a danger to the community, we strongly urge you to reconsider ICE's recent decision not to grant Petrova parole and exercise discretion within your authority to release her from detention while her asylum case is pending," they said in the March 31 letter. "Moreover, we are deeply concerned about the possibility that Petrova could face persecution if deported to Russia," the senators said. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell on May 12 filed an affidavit supporting Petrova, saying the administration's high-profile detention of international students threatens the state's economy and the country's global leadership in scientific innovation. "The Trump administration's actions targeting international students and academics sends a chilling message to talented students and academics around the world," Campell wrote, "that they risk detention, deportation and an end to their academic career in the United States at the whims of the federal government."
The Herald Scotland
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
This Harvard scientist hangs on to hope after months in ICE detention
Trim plays Bach or Chopin to calm her until the jail line clicks off at the 15-minute mark and she - a shy, 30-year-old Harvard scientist with no history of immigration violations or criminality - retreats to the bunk where she has slept for nearly three months in immigration detention. "I know he is very worried about me," Petrova told USA TODAY, using one of the phones. "Maybe I should be tougher," said Trim, a biologist, who works in a Harvard Medical School lab with Petrova, his colleague and roommate. "But even after three months, the music doesn't sing anymore unless she calls and wants to hear it." Across the country, President Donald Trump's deportation campaign is ensnaring people of all sorts - not only immigrants with criminal backgrounds, as promised during the presidential campaign. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained international students, immigrants with valid green cards, immigrants with legal work permits; tourists, U.S. citizen children, and, in Petrova's case, top-tier scholars who work legally in the nation's prestigious research labs. A court hearing May 14 could decide her fate. Trim and Petrova met in the Harvard Medical School lab in Boston where they worked together on cutting-edge research on aging and longevity. In photos, he is blond and slender; she has shoulder-length black hair and a round face. He was a British post-doctoral student looking for a place to continue his research. Petrova, a computational scientist, arrived after fleeing Russia. She had been working for the Genome Russia project, mapping the genetic variation of humankind, until she ran afoul of Vladimir Putin's government for protesting Russia's war on Ukraine. "She didn't compromise," Trim said, with awe. "She stood up for what she believed in." In mid-February, Petrova was returning to Boston from France when U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped her at baggage claim. She had gone to Paris to visit friends and see the concert of a Hungarian pianist she adored. Before she departed, she stopped by a sister laboratory to pick up a package of non-hazardous biological samples to bring back to Harvard, at the request of her boss. The last time they tried to ship the samples they went bad before arriving. Customs officers alleged Petrova didn't properly declare the samples, which included "loose vials of frog cells... without proper permits," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. "She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it," according to the statement, which criticized media coverage of "noteworthy individuals," including Petrova. The customs officers could have withheld the samples and issued a fine, her attorney said; instead, they canceled her J-1 scholar visa and detained her. She was turned over to ICE, sent to a processing center in Vermont and then transferred to the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana. And Petrova and Trim, like many others, began to learn the sometimes cruel idiosyncrasies of the U.S. immigration system. How foreigners can be held without charge. How immigration detention isn't supposed to be punishing, even though detention centers look, feel and often were, in the past, prisons. How expensive it is call in. How distant ICE detention centers often are from major cities. Trim has made the trek from Boston to Monroe - population 46,616 - three times, with a fourth visit planned. Each time, guards shepherd him to a prison wing beyond a double-barbed wire fence, to a room where Petrova waits. They are allowed a quick embrace at the beginning of their two-hour allotment. They sit at the short ends of a long table. They are allowed another quick hug at the end. The first time he asked, "Are you okay?" "The guard sat at a table right behind her," Trim said. "I don't know if he was taking notes. She was in a jumpsuit, a green prison outfit which was kind of sad, especially for someone who has done nothing wrong. She was reserved about what to say." "I miss everything," Petrova told USA TODAY. "To work, to read articles, to discuss with my colleagues, to make experiments, to do science." Trim sends her books direct from Amazon, per detention center rules. Petrova is reading his latest gift: Transformer, by Nick Lane, a book on biochemistry whose central question is: "What brings the Earth to life, and our own lives to an end?" Petrova looks less well each time he sees her, Trim said, by scientific observation. "My masters degree is in nutritional biochemistry," he said. "I noticed very specific things in her eyes, hair and skin and sends her money for commissary. "She buys multivitamins but it's not doing enough." They both miss the freedoms they took for granted. Chatting about the day's research on the six-minute walk from their apartment near Fenway Park to the Harvard lab. Boldly trying new recipes for dinner though neither knows how to cook. Sitting on the floor listening to classical music every night. "I'm not sure why we sat on the floor," Trim said, laughing. Petrova would invariably ask if he'd like some "Russian" tea, maybe while he played the piano? He'd jokingly remind her the tea package was labeled "London." He'd sit down to the piano. "I like listening to his playing very much," Petrova said. "I would even prefer to listening to some professional. The music isn't about technique; it's about feelings." "She was always shy about asking me to play," he said. "I'm not very good but she genuinely liked hearing it. It's all those little things. We would cook, have tea, play music and talk. And then in the morning we'd start again." On weekends, she made cappuccinos. "She has a way to use a French press to froth milk," Trim said. "It's stupid, but I watched a video on YouTube," she said, giggling. "Don't tell him." Most nights now, Trim can't stand to be in the apartment alone, so he walks the streets of Boston until late. Until the clock nears midnight by him, 11 p.m. and lights out by her. He plays the piano. She listens. A woman's automated voice interrupts the phone call: "You have one minute remaining on this call." He plays a few measures more. The line clicks off. Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@
USA Today
11-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
She's in ICE detention. From 1,500 miles away, his piano lulls her to sleep.
She's in ICE detention. From 1,500 miles away, his piano lulls her to sleep. Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova has been in ICE detention for 3 months. She is one of a growing number of non-criminal immigrants detained by ICE since Donald Trump took office. Show Caption Hide Caption Judge orders Rumeysa Ozturk to be released after claims of mistreatment in immigration detention facility Ozturk, whose student visa was revoked after publishing an op-ed, argues her detention infringes on her First Amendment rights to free speech and due process. Scripps News Every night at midnight, Will Trim sits down to the piano in his Boston apartment and waits for lights out in the Louisiana ICE detention center where his best friend is being held. His cellphone rings. On the other end, Kseniia Petrova is silent. She leans against a brick wall in a freezing ward with 101 other women, cradling one of six working phones to her ear. She listens. Trim plays Bach or Chopin to calm her until the jail line clicks off at the 15-minute mark and she – a shy, 30-year-old Harvard scientist with no history of immigration violations or criminality – retreats to the bunk where she has slept for nearly three months in immigration detention. "I know he is very worried about me," Petrova told USA TODAY, using one of the phones. "Maybe I should be tougher," said Trim, a biologist, who works in a Harvard Medical School lab with Petrova, his colleague and roommate. "But even after three months, the music doesn't sing anymore unless she calls and wants to hear it." Across the country, President Donald Trump's deportation campaign is ensnaring people of all sorts – not only immigrants with criminal backgrounds, as promised during the presidential campaign. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained international students, immigrants with valid green cards, immigrants with legal work permits; tourists, U.S. citizen children, and, in Petrova's case, top-tier scholars who work legally in the nation's prestigious research labs. A court hearing May 14 could decide her fate. Trim and Petrova met in the Harvard Medical School lab in Boston where they worked together on cutting-edge research on aging and longevity. In photos, he is blond and slender; she has shoulder-length black hair and a round face. He was a British post-doctoral student looking for a place to continue his research. Petrova, a computational scientist, arrived after fleeing Russia. She had been working for the Genome Russia project, mapping the genetic variation of humankind, until she ran afoul of Vladimir Putin's government for protesting Russia's war on Ukraine. "She didn't compromise," Trim said, with awe. "She stood up for what she believed in." In mid-February, Petrova was returning to Boston from France when U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped her at baggage claim. She had gone to Paris to visit friends and see the concert of a Hungarian pianist she adored. Before she departed, she stopped by a sister laboratory to pick up a package of non-hazardous biological samples to bring back to Harvard, at the request of her boss. The last time they tried to ship the samples they went bad before arriving. Customs officers alleged Petrova didn't properly declare the samples, which included "loose vials of frog cells... without proper permits," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. "She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it," according to the statement, which criticized media coverage of "noteworthy individuals," including Petrova. The customs officers could have withheld the samples and issued a fine, her attorney said; instead, they canceled her J-1 scholar visa and detained her. She was turned over to ICE, sent to a processing center in Vermont and then transferred to the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana. And Petrova and Trim, like many others, began to learn the sometimes cruel idiosyncrasies of the U.S. immigration system. How foreigners can be held without charge. How immigration detention isn't supposed to be punishing, even though detention centers look, feel and often were, in the past, prisons. How expensive it is call in. How distant ICE detention centers often are from major cities. Trim has made the trek from Boston to Monroe – population 46,616 – three times, with a fourth visit planned. Each time, guards shepherd him to a prison wing beyond a double-barbed wire fence, to a room where Petrova waits. They are allowed a quick embrace at the beginning of their two-hour allotment. They sit at the short ends of a long table. They are allowed another quick hug at the end. The first time he asked, "Are you okay?" "The guard sat at a table right behind her," Trim said. "I don't know if he was taking notes. She was in a jumpsuit, a green prison outfit which was kind of sad, especially for someone who has done nothing wrong. She was reserved about what to say." "I miss everything," Petrova told USA TODAY. "To work, to read articles, to discuss with my colleagues, to make experiments, to do science." Trim sends her books direct from Amazon, per detention center rules. Petrova is reading his latest gift: Transformer, by Nick Lane, a book on biochemistry whose central question is: "What brings the Earth to life, and our own lives to an end?" Petrova looks less well each time he sees her, Trim said, by scientific observation. "My masters degree is in nutritional biochemistry," he said. "I noticed very specific things in her eyes, hair and skin and sends her money for commissary. "She buys multivitamins but it's not doing enough." They both miss the freedoms they took for granted. Chatting about the day's research on the six-minute walk from their apartment near Fenway Park to the Harvard lab. Boldly trying new recipes for dinner though neither knows how to cook. Sitting on the floor listening to classical music every night. "I'm not sure why we sat on the floor," Trim said, laughing. Petrova would invariably ask if he'd like some "Russian" tea, maybe while he played the piano? He'd jokingly remind her the tea package was labeled "London." He'd sit down to the piano. "I like listening to his playing very much," Petrova said. "I would even prefer to listening to some professional. The music isn't about technique; it's about feelings." "She was always shy about asking me to play," he said. "I'm not very good but she genuinely liked hearing it. It's all those little things. We would cook, have tea, play music and talk. And then in the morning we'd start again." On weekends, she made cappuccinos. "She has a way to use a French press to froth milk," Trim said. "It's stupid, but I watched a video on YouTube," she said, giggling. "Don't tell him." Most nights now, Trim can't stand to be in the apartment alone, so he walks the streets of Boston until late. Until the clock nears midnight by him, 11 p.m. and lights out by her. He plays the piano. She listens. A woman's automated voice interrupts the phone call: "You have one minute remaining on this call." He plays a few measures more. The line clicks off. Lauren Villagran can be reached at lvillagran@
