Latest news with #KseniiaPetrova
Epoch Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Federal Judge Orders Russian Researcher to Be Released From ICE Custody
A federal judge has granted bail to a Russian medical researcher at Harvard University in her immigration case, but she still faces a criminal smuggling charge and will remain in detention. At a hearing Wednesday, Judge Christina Reiss of the District Court of Vermont said that Kseniia Petrova's continued immigration detention was unjustified. She gave the federal government until Friday to propose the terms of release.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Judge orders release of Harvard scientist from ICE detention
A judge has ordered Harvard University researcher Kseniia Petrova to be released from custody after she was detained for allegedly smuggling frog embryos into the country. 'We are gratified that today's hearing gave us the opportunity to present clear and convincing evidence that Kseniia Petrova was not carrying anything dangerous or unlawful, and that customs officers at Logan International Airport had no legal authority to revoke her visa or detain her,' said Gregory Romanovsky, Petrova's attorney. 'At today's hearing, we demonstrated that Kseniia is neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk, and does not belong in immigration detention,' he added. The Russian-born scientist has so far been held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in Louisiana for three months, and her J-1 nonimmigrant visa was revoked. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss found Petrova is not a flight risk nor a danger to the community and set a criminal bail hearing for next week. Reiss raised concerns over the legality of the revocation of Petrova's visa and whether she was held for too long without court review, NBC News reported. Petrova still faces federal smuggling charges and will not be released from the custody of U.S. marshals unless a judge also rules in that case for her bail. Petrova's team at Harvard does cancer research, and her attorney has argued she did not need a permit for the materials she brought into the country. The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment. The decision is the latest in a series of wins for foreign students and faculty who have been detained by the Trump administration. It also comes at a time when the Trump administration is looking to hamper Harvard by cutting its funding, taking away the university's ability to admit foreign students, and threatening to cap foreign student enrollment at 15 percent, when Harvard's student body is currently 27 percent international students. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wednesday's Mini-Report, 5.28.25
Today's edition of quick hits. * In the Middle East: 'Hamas' Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar, the younger brother of the group's deceased leader Yahya Sinwar, has been killed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers Wednesday.' * Kseniia Petrova's case: 'A federal judge on Wednesday granted bail to Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova, who has spent more than three months in custody after failing to declare frog embryos upon arriving in the United States. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss in Vermont said Petrova's continued detention by immigration authorities was unjustified and raised serious legal concerns about the government's actions.' * A disappointing ruling from a Trump-appointed judge: 'A federal judge refused Wednesday to temporarily block the Trump administration from removing and replacing the director of the U.S. Copyright Office. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled from the bench that the office director, Shira Perlmutter, hasn't met her legal burden to show how removing her from the position would cause her to suffer irreparable harm.' * Given that a majority of Missouri voters last fall to approve a state constitutional amendment that guarantees the 'fundamental right to reproductive freedom,' developments like these probably shouldn't happen: 'Planned Parenthood officials say they have halted abortions in Missouri after the state Supreme Court ruled that a judge must reevaluate orders that had allowed the procedure to resume earlier this year.' * All things considered, Musk isn't the only one 'disappointed' with Republicans' regressive bill: 'Elon Musk broke with President Donald Trump on the House-passed domestic policy bill, saying in an interview that he was 'disappointed' that it would increase the federal deficit.' * The White House needs to dial down the inflammatory rhetoric: 'Threats against federal judges have risen drastically since President Trump took office, according to internal data compiled by the U.S. Marshals Service. In the five-month period leading up to March 1 of this year, 80 individual judges had received threats, the data shows. Then, over the next six weeks, an additional 162 judges received threats, a dramatic increase. That spike in threats coincided with a flood of harsh rhetoric — often from Mr. Trump himself — criticizing judges who have ruled against the administration and, in some cases, calling on Congress to impeach them.' * Crypto scores another win: 'The Labor Department on Wednesday yanked Biden-era guidance that strongly discouraged employers against offering cryptocurrency in workers' 401(k) plan options.' See you tomorrow. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge takes step toward possible release of detained Russian Harvard scientist accused of smuggling
A federal judge in Vermont ruled in favor of a Russian Harvard scientist who was detained by ICE and accused of smuggling goods into the U.S. on Wednesday. Kseniia Petrova, 31, was first detained by ICE before being transferred to criminal custody earlier this month. Wednesday's ruling ensures that if she is granted bail and released at her criminal hearing next week, ICE cannot detain her once again. President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to deport Petrova back to Russia following her detention at Boston's Logan Airport in February. She has worked as a researcher at Harvard Medical School for more than two years, and colleagues at the school testified in her defense at Wednesday's hearing. Authorities charged Petrova with smuggling biological material after TSA at the airport allegedly found clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples in her luggage. Russian Scientist At Harvard Medical School Detained By Ice At Boston Airport The judge determined on Wednesday that Petrova is not a flight risk and does not pose any danger to the community. Her criminal bail hearing is set to take place next week in Massachusetts. Read On The Fox News App The judge also noted that Petrova's work at Harvard has benefited the U.S., as her team is focused on cancer research. The U.S. Attorney's Office said that Petrova allegedly denied having the biological material at first but later admitted to carrying it. Prosecutors also claim that Petrova's text messages show that she was aware that she needed a permit to bring in the clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples that were allegedly found in her luggage. In one text message exchange cited by the office, Petrova was asked whether she had a plan to get the biological material into the U.S., and she allegedly responded by saying, "No plan yet. I won't be able to swallow them." Gregory Romanovsky, the attorney representing Petrova, argues that customs experts confirmed that his client "did not need a permit to bring her non-living scientific samples that are not considered biological material under U.S. Customs law." Petrova said in a recent New York Times op-ed that she was returning to the U.S. after vacationing in Paris when she was detained by ICE in February. She also expressed her fear of being arrested in Russia if deported, as she has been a critic of the war in Ukraine. While she admitted in the op-ed to not filling out a customs form regarding the frog embryos in her luggage, she believed it would result in a fine or warning, not an arrest. "At Logan International Airport, I did not complete a customs declaration for frog embryos (for use in our lab's research) in my luggage. I'm told this would normally result in a warning or a fine. Instead, my visa was revoked, and I was sent to a detention center in Louisiana," Petrova wrote. Fox News' Rachel Wolf contributed to this article source: Judge takes step toward possible release of detained Russian Harvard scientist accused of smuggling
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Judge orders release of Harvard scientist from ICE detention
A judge has ordered Harvard University researcher Kseniia Petrova released from custody after she was detained for allegedly smuggling frog embryos into the country. 'We are gratified that today's hearing gave us the opportunity to present clear and convincing evidence that Kseniia Petrova was not carrying anything dangerous or unlawful, and that customs officers at Logan International Airport had no legal authority to revoke her visa or detain her,' said Gregory Romanovsky, Petrova's attorney. 'At today's hearing, we demonstrated that Kseniia is neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk, and does not belong in immigration detention,' he added. The Russian-born scientist has so far been held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in Louisiana for three months, and her J-1 nonimmigrant visa was revoked. U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss found Petrova is not a flight risk nor a danger to the community and set a criminal bail hearing for next week. Reiss raised concerns over the legality of the revocation of Petrova's visa and whether she was held for too long without court review, NBC News reported. Petrova still faces federal smuggling charges and will not be released from the custody of U.S. marshals unless a judge also rules in that case for her bail. Petrova's team at Harvard does cancer research, and her attorney has argued she did not need a permit for the materials she brought into the country. The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment. The decision is the latest in a series of wins for foreign students and faculty who have been detained by the Trump administration. It also comes at a time when the Trump administration is looking to cripple Harvard by cutting its funding, taking away the university's ability to admit foreign students and threatening to cap foreign student enrollment at 15 percent, when Harvard's student body is currently 27 percent international students.
