The Federal Building in Burlington houses the U.S. District Courthouse and the U.S. Postal Service. Photo by Bob LoCicero/VTDigger
A federal judge in Vermont has ordered the release of a Russian-born Harvard Medical School scientist from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, agreeing with the researcher’s attorney that she was unlawfully detained.
However, the ruling by Judge Christina Reiss, which came at the end of a roughly 90-minute hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, won’t immediately mean freedom for 31-year-old Kseniia Petrova.
ICE had detained Petrova after she arrived at Boston Logan International Airport from France in February and did not properly declare frog embryo research samples. She has since been charged criminally in federal court in Massachusetts for allegedly trying to smuggle the frog embryos into the United States.
Petrova remains detained on that criminal charge.
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Her attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, said in court Wednesday that he expected his client to have a hearing in that case as early as next week in Massachusetts when her release on the criminal charge could be considered.
Petrova’s ICE detention case landed in federal court in Vermont because, after she was taken into custody at the Boston airport in February, she was held at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, Vermont’s women’s prison, in South Burlington for a week before ICE transferred her to a facility in Louisiana.
Petrova brought a legal action – a habeas petition – in Vermont’s federal court during the week she was in custody in the state, alleging she was being unlawfully held by federal authorities.
Reiss’s decision on Wednesday makes her the third federal judge in Vermont to grant a person’s release from ICE custody in a high-profile immigration case since President Donald Trump took office in January.
Earlier this month, Federal Judge William K. Sessions III granted the release of a Tufts University student who had been held in ICE custody for a short time in the state. And, in April, federal Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered the release of a Columbia University student living in Vermont when he was taken into ICE custody.
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Reiss, Crawford and Sessions all preside in federal courts in Burlington.
In all three Vermont federal cases, the rulings came over the objections from attorneys from the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Justice.
Reiss, in ordering Petrova’s release from ICE custody Wednesday, sided with the scientist’s lawyer, who argued that his client had been unlawfully detained by federal immigration authorities. Often, according to Petrova’s attorney, the penalty for failing to declare non-dangerous items was simply a fine or forfeiture.
The judge during Wednesday’s hearing spoke of the researcher’s groundbreaking work as well as her lack of a criminal history.
“Her activities in the United States did nothing to threaten public safety,” Reiss said of Petrova.
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“To the contrary,” the judge added. “She has furthered this country’s interest in finding a cure and treatment for cancer in the area of biological and regenerative research. Her work is described as excellent, exceptional and of national importance by people qualified to render those opinions.”
The research samples Petrova was accused of bringing into the United States, Reiss said, were “wholly non-hazardous, non-toxic, nonliving” and “posed a threat to no one.”
In a federal court filing in the Vermont case, Petrova’s attorney described the incident leading to her custody as an “inadvertent failure” to declare on a customs form frog embryos that she was bringing to the United States from a research facility in France when she had traveled on vacation.
The request for the frog embryos, Petrova’s lawyer wrote in the filing, came from the leader of a research group at Harvard Medical School “under whose leadership she works.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection cancelled Petrova’s visa after finding the frog embryos, and federal authorities have said they were seeking to send her to Russia.
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Petrova, according to court filings and in published media accounts, has said she fears returning to Russia, where she has faced past persecution for her political activities, including protesting against the war in Ukraine.
Reiss, in ordering Petrova’s release from ICE custody Wednesday, addressed her concern about the possibility of returning to Russia.
“Ms. Petrova’s life and wellbeing are in peril if she is deported to Russia,” the judge said, adding: “The government has made it clear and unequivocal that it intends to deport her to Russia unless she is granted asylum, and that it will not allow her to depart to another country where she will be safe and where she has legitimate immigration status.”
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said Petrova was “lawfully” detained after “lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country.”
Romanovsky, Petrova’s lawyer, had called on Reiss during the hearing to issue an order preventing ICE from arresting his client again if she were released from custody on the federal criminal charge in Massachusetts.
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Reiss did not grant that request, saying she didn’t want to prohibit an executive branch agency from taking “future actions which are uncertain.”
Insead, the judge pointed to comments during the hearing made by Jeffrey Hartman, a U.S. Department of Justice attorney, who said he was not aware of any plans by ICE to re-arrest Petrova if she were to be released on the Massachusetts case.
Petrova took part in the hearing by video from the ICE detention center in Louisiana, where she has been held since shortly after she was taken into custody and transferred from Vermont.
Four friends, colleagues and researchers testified during Wednesday’s hearing on Petrova’s behalf, attesting to her scientific skills and nonviolent demeanor, with one associate calling her “beyond kind.”
Vermont is in the midst of an alarming referee shortage — a problem unfolding nationwide, but one that has hit hard in a state with a small and aging workforce.
Between 2018 and 2023, the National Federation of State High School Associations reported a loss of almost 60,000 officials nationwide, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Vermont, officials are spread thin covering games across 23 sports at over 70 high schools in the Vermont Principals’ Association — the state’s governing body for school athletics. Trainees aren’t offsetting the number of retiring veteran officials, and the resulting gap in personnel is forcing games to be postponed or canceled.
“What was just affecting a couple sports out of the wide pool of varsity sports in the state — now it’s virtually every sport,” said Devin Wendel, president of the Vermont State Athletic Directors Association and athletic director at Mount Abraham Union High School.
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With a working population that is already strained, the persisting shortage of officials in Vermont carries a serious risk of interrupting high school seasons.
“If we don’t do something, in the next three to five years there won’t be enough of us to cover sporting events in Vermont and that is bad for all involved,” Steve Cicio — president of Vermont’s branch of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials — wrote in a Nov. 13 email. “We are going to struggle this season with what we have for numbers,” he said.
This year alone, the association lost between 10 and 12 varsity officials, and five to six junior varsity officials, according to Cicio.
Many of those retiring have been in the business for numerous decades, with expertise in multiple sports. Their retirements mean fewer mentors for the next generation filling their shoes.
A 2023 survey of the association’s officials found that around half planned to retire by 2028.
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“Not only are we losing a large percentage of our board, but out of that 50%, a large percentage of those folks are capable and qualified to work almost any game in the state,” said Trevour Houle, a varsity basketball official of nearly 10 years. “If I were to guess, it’s going to create a snowball effect where we lose a large amount of officials — those who are left are asked to work more nights a week, those officials are probably going to get burnt out or injured, and they’re going to decide next year whether they want to do that all over again or not.”
Dwindling numbers puts a greater burden on those remaining, who are expected to cover more games across further distances than they had previously.
“You’re seeing officials that are getting overworked, trying to hustle over to get from one location to the next,” said Michael Jabour, senior director of activities at South Burlington High School and Middle School.
Varsity teams typically take priority because their regular seasons determine playoffs and championships, unlike junior varsity teams, said Tim Messier, athletic director at Lamoille Union High School. Teams at Lamoille Union lose a couple games each season because officials aren’t available, he said.
Referees are paid $97.50 for varsity and $75 for junior varsity games, plus the cost of mileage. First-time registration to be an official costs $30 and secures certification for one year. Referees can then officiate as many sports they choose to train for.
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The VPA’s officials committee increased the pay by 30% two years ago and the earnings are aligned with all other New England states, said Lauren Young, executive director of activities at the VPA.
“You take your $97.50 and it sounds like, ‘Wow, that’s a great fee for a game.’ Well, it was an hour there. You have to get to the game an hour early. The game takes an hour and a half to two hours. You shower, you’re in the locker room for 20 minutes after the game and then you have your hour ride home,” Houle said. “When you start breaking it down to an hourly rate, it’s not that great.”
Vermont’s handful of remaining referees also face continuing harassment, particularly from spectators, said Young. She suspects that poor sportsmanship is partially to blame for disillusionment about joining the force.
Among those who become certified, most new officials resign within their first three years, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
“They can never be right. They’re always to blame,” Jabour said. “It’s hard to be an official because you’re constantly being told how terrible you are.”
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As the VPA ramps up their recruitment efforts, Young wants to see a more accurate representation of Vermont’s student body with whistles — particularly through more women and people of color becoming certified to officiate.
“We have diverse schools, and I think there’s power in seeing people in a position of authority in the game that are reflective of what they look like to try to dispel some of the older white male dominance over the officiating world,” she said.
Nationally, the shortage could be on the mend. The National Federation of State High School Associations reported an 8% increase in registered officials this year compared to 2018.
But in Vermont, the void left by referees stepping down isn’t being filled. While the VPA is marketing to college students and tapping school administrators to spread the word about the shortage in their communities, Young expects to draw in just two or three newcomers this year.
“Even recruiting 10 officials in the state of Vermont can have a huge impact on a local high school being able to actually keep their schedule intact,” Wendel said.
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Busy Anderson is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch on Friday said the Pentagon had ordered the deployment of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing to the Caribbean amid heightened tensions with Venezuela.
According to Welch, the deployment is part of Operation Southern Spear, which has been targeting drug trafficking in the region as President Donald Trump’s administration has sought the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
A Pentagon spokesperson on Friday referred questions to the Vermont Guard.
The 158th Fighter Wing, based in South Burlington, includes 20 F-35A Lightning II fighter jets and approximately 1,000 personnel.
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Joseph Brooks, a spokesperson for the Vermont Guard, told the Globe earlier this week that the unit had been ordered by the Department of Defense to mobilize, but he would not disclose the location or details of the deployment.
Brooks declined to comment further Friday night.
In a written statement, Welch thanked Vermont Guard members for their service but criticized the Trump administration for deploying them.
“I strongly oppose President Trump’s mobilization of the Vermont Air National Guard alongside thousands of other U.S. military units in what appears to be a relentless march to war,” Welch said. “An undeclared war against the Venezuelan regime would be illegal under our Constitution. If this president — or any president — wants to start a war with Venezuela, which has not attacked us and is not a source of the fentanyl that is killing Americans, then he needs to seek authorization from Congress, as the authors of the Constitution intended.”
Details of the deployment remained unclear Friday, though Seven Days, a Burlington newspaper, reported that the unit would be stationed at a recently reopened military base in Puerto Rico. The newspaper said some Vermont Guard members had already headed there to prepare for the deployment.
WINOOSKI, Vt. — A small school district in Vermont was hit with racist and threatening calls and messages after a Somali flag was put up a week ago in response to President Donald Trump referring to Minnesota’s Somali community as “ garbage.”
The Winooski School District began to display the flag Dec. 5 to show solidarity with a student body that includes about 9% people of Somali descent.
“We invited our students and community to come together for a little moment of normalcy in a sea of racist rhetoric nationally,” said Winooski School District Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria, himself a Nicaraguan immigrant. “We felt really good about it until the ugliness came knocking Monday morning.”
The Somali flag was flown alongside the Vermont state flag and beneath the United States flag at a building that includes K-12 classrooms and administrative offices. Somali students cheered and clapped, telling administrators the flag flying meant a great deal to them, he said.
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What ensued was a deluge of phone calls, voicemails and social media posts aimed at district workers and students. Some school phone lines were shut down — along with the district website — as a way to shield staff from harassment. Chavarria said videos of the event did not also show the U.S. and Vermont flags were still up and spread through right-wing social media apps, leaving out the important context.
“Our staff members, our administrators and our community are overwhelmed right now, and they are being viciously attacked. The content of those attacks is extremely, extremely deplorable. I don’t know what other word to use,” Chavarria said Tuesday.
Mukhtar Abdullahi, an immigrant who serves as a multilingual liaison for families in the district who speak Somali and a related dialect, said “no one, no human being, regardless of where they come from, is garbage.” Students have asked if their immigrant parents are safe, he said.
“Regardless of what happens, I know we have a strong community,” Abdullahi said. “And I’m very, very, very thankful to be part of it.”
The district is helping law enforcement investigate the continued threats, Chavarria said, and additional police officers have been stationed at school buildings as a precaution. Winooski is near Burlington, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) south of Montreal, Canada.
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White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called the calls and messages the school received “the actions of individuals who have nothing to do with” Trump.
“Aliens who come to our country, complain about how much they hate America, fail to contribute to our economy, and refuse to assimilate into our society should not be here,” Jackson said in an email late Thursday. “And American schools should fly American flags.”
Federal authorities last week began an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota to focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S. Trump has claimed “they contribute nothing ” and said “I don’t want them in our country.” The Minneapolis mayor has defended the newcomers, saying they have started businesses, created jobs and added to the city’s cultural fabric. Most are U.S. citizens and more than half of all Somali people in Minnesota were born in the U.S.
At the school district in Vermont, Chavarria said his position as superintendent gave him authority to fly the flag for up to a week without the school board’s explicit approval.
The school district also held an event with catered Somali food, and Chavarria plans to continue to find ways to celebrate its diversity.
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“I felt sorrow for the students, the families, the little kids that are my responsibility to keep safe. And it’s my responsibility to make them feel like they belong and that this is their country and this is their school district. This is what we do,” he said.
