“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.”
“We urge the Administration to ensure full due process in her case and take all appropriate and necessary measures to ensure she is not deported to Russia.”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) led 15 Senators in a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons urging the release of Kseniia Petrova, a recently detained Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian citizen who had her J-1 scholar visa revoked over a month ago. Petrova has expressed fear of persecution if returned to Russia and has remained at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities since her detainment pending a hearing before an immigration judge on May 7, 2025.
“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,” wrote the Senators.
“Moreover, we are deeply concerned about the possibility that Petrova could face persecution if deported to Russia. We urge the Administration to ensure full due process in her case and take all appropriate and necessary measures to ensure she is not deported to Russia,” concluded the Senators.
According to Petrova’s attorney, CBP officials asked her whether they should notify the Russian government about her detention, to which she is reported to have responded: “I am scared to go back to Russia. I am afraid the Russian Federation will kill me for protesting against them.” Petrova was speaking with fear and certainty. She was previously arrested in Russia for protesting against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and calling for the impeachment of Vladimir Putin on her Facebook account.
This letter is signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Christopher Coons (D-Del), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-Maine.), Tina Smith (D-Smith.), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
Dear Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:
We write with great concern about recent reports that Kseniia Petrova, a Russian citizen and Harvard Medical School researcher, had her J-1 scholar visa revoked over a month ago. Petrova, who has expressed fear of persecution if returned to Russia, has been detained since at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities pending a hearing before an immigration judge on May 7, 2025.
Petrova was returning to the United States from Paris, France, on February 16, 2025, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at Boston Logan International Airport detained her and revoked her student visa after alleging that she failed to properly declare frog embryos, which she reportedly brought into the country at the request of her Harvard professor. According to Petrova’s attorney, upon her detention, CBP officials asked her whether they should notify the Russian government, to which she is reported to have responded: “I am scared to go back to Russia. I am afraid the Russian Federation will kill me for protesting against them.”
Petrova was previously arrested in Russia for protesting against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and calling for the impeachment of Vladimir Putin on her Facebook account. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) found that Petrova indeed has a credible fear of return to Russia.
Petrova is currently facing prolonged detention. After detaining Petrova on February 16, 2025, CBP transferred her to an ICE facility in Vermont, and ultimately she was transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana. Her preliminary hearing before an immigration judge is May 7, 2025, and her case could continue for months after that. In the meantime, Petrova is reportedly being held with at least 70 other detainees in the same cell.
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.
Moreover, we are deeply concerned about the possibility that Petrova could face persecution if deported to Russia. We urge the Administration to ensure full due process in her case and take all appropriate and necessary measures to ensure she is not deported to Russia.
Thank you for your prompt attention and consideration.
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