Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova charged with smuggling as she fights deportation

The Trump administration has levied federal smuggling charges against Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova as the Russian national fights for her freedom from immigration detention.

Prosecutors filed the charges in U.S. District Court for Massachussetts, made public on May 14, the same day a federal judge in Vermont heard arguments in Petrova's case against the U.S. government for wrongful detention.

The government contends that Petrova failed to declare biologic material when arriving at Boston's Logan International Airport in February. In the lawsuit, the government asked U.S. Judge Christina Reiss to dismiss Petrova's case and deport her to her native Russia.

Petrova sued the Trump administration after customs officers canceled her J-1 work-study visa and turned her over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for failing to declare biological samples. She has been detained in Louisiana since mid-February.

In court documents, Petrova's lawyers have argued that the samples – non-living, chemically fixed frog embryos –were not alive, therefore she didn't believe they needed to be declared. In the past, a similar violation might have led to a fine.

Petrova, a top-tier researcher, fled Russia after protesting Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine and had been working in a Harvard Medical School lab for two years. She said she fears returning to Russia, but has agreed to go back to France.

Charges against Petrova

U.S. prosecutors allege Petrova “fraudulently and knowingly” imported biological specimens.

In the criminal complaint, the government alleges Petrova was warned by colleagues via text messages that she needed to get permits to bring in the samples. She told customs officers she “was not sure about embryos specifically,” according to the complaint.

Petrova maintains she didn't lie to customs officers; in her own complaint, her lawyers say she didn't properly declare the material. But her lawyers argue CBP could have issued a fine and allowed her to return to France; she has a visa that allows her to travel in Europe.

The charges were filed on May 12 and unsealed two days later after a hearing where the judge appeared to question the government's treatment of Petrova.

Broader challenges to immigrant detention

The Trump administration has been frustrated by legal challenges from high-profile foreign students and academics. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, Stephen Miller, recently floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus, the legal right to challenge detention.

The Justice Department questioned the Vermont court's jurisdication and asked to throw out Petrova's case, saying the customs officer who initially questioned the scientist acted within her authority. Petrova was briefly held in ICE detention in Vermont.

Reiss plans to review the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss, and scheduled a bail hearing for May 28.

Judge questioned federal officials

The May 14 hearing was the first challenging Petrova's three months in detention. Petrova, held in a crowded detention dormitory, appeared virtually more than 30 minutes after the hearing started.

In court, Reiss questioned the government's authority to strip Petrova of her legal status. Reiss said she could imagine the airport interaction being “nerve-racking.”

"Where does a (CBP) officer have the authority, on his or her own, to revoke a visa?" Reiss said. "It's got to be somewhere, because there's no way that person has kind of an unlimited determination."

Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Hartman said the CBP officer acted correctly after Petrova didn’t declare the samples that were placed in “a baggy with loose vials.”

“The CBP officer was our first line of defense against unknown biological materials from a foreign national,” Hartman said.

Supporters in the court

In the courtroom, Leo Gerdén, a 22-year-old international student at Harvard College, said the court's pews were full of students and faculty supporting Petrova. They left their Massachusetts homes at 5:15 that morning, driving three-and-a-half hours to the Vermont courthouse to show their support.

Gerdén, who is originally from Sweden, doesn't know Petrova personally, but he said her case and other international students detained for their views on Palestinian rights have sparked fear on college campuses.

“Whatever happens in this case, this is going to have an impact,” he said. “People are going to question whether it is worth it to come to America. Whether it is safe to come to America.”