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She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her

(www.nytimes.com)
167 points xnx | 2 comments | 11 Apr 25 14:10 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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quelup ◴[11 Apr 25 14:33 UTC] No.43654248[source]▶
The article left me with a couple questions - is cancelling a visa for not declaring something like frog embryos normal protocol? Does ICE have evidence that not declaring them was intentional? In any case, I really hope she doesn't get deported. If it was just a mistake, this seems like an abuse of power.
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rdtsc ◴[11 Apr 25 16:44 UTC] No.43655828[source]▶
> Does ICE have evidence that not declaring them was intentional? I

They say they do: “Messages on her phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them. She knowingly broke the law and took deliberate steps to evade it.”

> The article left me with a couple questions - is cancelling a visa for not declaring something like frog embryos normal protocol?

A visa like J-1 can be cancelled at the port of entry for a variety of reasons. Doesn't mean she immediately loses her status. With a visa like that you're essentially at the mercy of the State Dept. You can still reply but you have to exit the US. The normal procedure would have been to immediately send her to Russia. The idea is, you go back to your home country and re-apply. But they didn't do that and "let her" stay in detention since Russia is a dangerous place for her.

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1. Tadpole9181 ◴[11 Apr 25 16:58 UTC] No.43655980[source]▶
That's the problem with trust and reputation. Once it's gone, it's pretty hard for anyone to just trust you on this. How can anyone believe this administration when it says someone is a criminal without a video of them doing a crime at this point? And why were they looking through her phone anyway?
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2. rdtsc ◴[11 Apr 25 17:13 UTC] No.43656149[source]▶
It's a port of entry. Once they flagged her for a search they can and do search electronic devices. Officials there may also deny those kind of visas on a whim seemingly. The next step is usually being sent back to the country of origin where the visa was issued and re-applying for it at the embassy. I don't think her status of a J-1 student automatically cancelled. Except in this case it wasn't safe to send her back to Russia so she ended up in detection.