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in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in Louisiana for three months, and her J-1 nonimmigrant visa was revoked.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.
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