An immigration judge has found that the initial deportation case of the United States Government against Kseniia Petrova, a Harvard scientist born in Russia in ice arrest, to be legally deficient, said his lawyer, asking questions about whether the case can move forward.
The preliminary immigration hearing, held in Jena, Louisiana, included three litigating lawyers and a deputy director of immigration control and customs. Petrova’s lawyer, Greg Romanovsky, described his presence as unusual for an early stage procedure.
“In my 25 years of practice, I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said.
The judge determined that the notice that would appear, the official document that initiated the deportation procedures, did not comply with the legal standards, Romanovsky said. ICE has been given a week to present additional documentation to support his position for Petrova to be deportable. A monitoring audience has been scheduled for July 22 to determine if the case can proceed.
If the judge declares that the deportability position is valid, a final hearing will be scheduled on the Petrova Asylum application. Until then, it is likely that a resolution in the case is months away, Romanovsky said.
Petrova, 30, remains in ice custody at the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, where she has been held for about two months. She was a leading scientist in the famous Harvard Kirschner laboratory until she was arrested at a Boston airport in mid -February. She is struggling against possible deportation to Russia, where she said she fears persecution and jail for her protests against war in Ukraine.
His lawyer is now focused on ensuring his release, arguing that he should not remain in detention while his case remains in procedural uncertainty.
The impulse for his release focuses on a separate federal case, Petrova’s lawyer has presented in the United States District Court in Vermont, where he is demanding the Department of National Security, so he alleges that it was an illegal cancellation of Visa and his subsequent detention. A hearing in that case is scheduled for May 14 in Burlington, Vermont.
“You shouldn’t have to wait for the result of a prolonged legal process while you feel in detention in Louisiana,” Romanovsky said.
The result of the Vermont Federal Hearing could significantly affect Petrova’s arrest state before the Julio Immigration Court hearing in Louisiana.
The National Security Department said in an X statement that Petrova was “legally arrested after lying to federal officers about bringing substances to the country.”
“A posterior K9 inspection discovered unstalled Petri plates, unknown substances containers and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without adequate permits,” DHS said in the position. “The messages found on their phone revealed that it planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them.”
Petrova described the incident differently.
“They asked me if I had biological samples in my luggage. I said yes,” he told NBC News in Louisiana. She described the confusion about customs procedures and a long interrogation by customs officers and border protection.
“No one knew what was happening to me. I had no contact, not my lawyer, not Leon, not anyone,” he said, referring to Dr. Leon Peshkin, a main investigation scientist from the Harvard Systems Biology Department and his manager and mentor. “And the next day, they didn’t say what would happen. I was waiting in a cell.”
