A federal judge on Wednesday asserted that the United States acted illegally when it stripped a Russian scientist and Harvard researcher of her visa for smuggling biological samples into the country.

The Justice Department charged Harvard researcher Kseniia Petrova with smuggling the samples, which included clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples, into a Boston airport earlier this month without the proper permit. 

Attorneys for Petrova argued the incident would normally result in a fine and be treated as a small infraction, but a Customs officer canceled her J-1 visa and arranged for her deportation instead.  

U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss, who was weighing whether bail would be appropriate in the case, determined there was no "legal basis" for the Customs' officer decision to cancel the visa and granted the request for bail.

“There does not seem to be either a factual or legal basis for the immigration officer’s actions," Reiss said during the Vermont hearing, the New York Times reported. “Ms. Petrova’s life and well-being are in peril if she is deported to Russia ... Bail is necessary to make the habeas remedy effective in this case."

Petrova will now be transferred from Louisiana to Massachusetts to face the smuggling charges, but it is not clear if the government will allow her to be released on bail before then. 

The criminal charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a term of up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.