US officials have given the French government's claim that scientists were denied entry into the United States because of the opinions he expressed about the Trump administration.
French authorities continue to call the case a lawsuit, whether U.S. official Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, who said scientists were driven away independently of his personal beliefs.
“The French researcher in question owned confidential information about the electronics from the Los Alamos National Laboratory — a breach of a private agreement and attempted to cover up and admit that he would take it without permission,” McLaughlin said late Thursday.
French Minister of Higher Education Philip Baptist said this week that the scientist who specializes in space research had traveled to a conference near Houston earlier this month.
Scientists were not allowed to enter the United States, Baptist said his phone included exchanging messages with colleagues and friends, as he gave him “personal opinions” on President Trump's scientific and research policies.
However, McLaughlin refused to give the review. “The assertion that his removal is based on political beliefs is blatantly wrong,” she said. She did not provide further details.
It was unclear when, how and how scientists worked in a lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory is best known as an integral place for the development of atomic bombs.
Today it is the top research facility of the National Nuclear Security Agency, but also conducts scientific work on other topics. Lab representatives were not immediately able to reach comments.
The scientist worked at the French publicly funded National Scientific Research Center. Representatives of the center said he didn't want to talk to the media, but they didn't respond immediately to the Department of Homeland Security allegations against him.
Not so was Baptist's office, who headed the French National Center for Space Research before becoming a pastor in 2024.
But on Friday, Baptist reiterated his claim that scientists were targeted because of private discussions and opinions about Trump administration policies.
He told SUD Radio in an interview that although he had never spoken directly with scientists, his ministry was in touch with him.
“Country can freely regulate borders,” Baptist admitted. However, he said the scientist's case was “very atypical” and “the subject of concern.”
That concern was shared by the French Academy of Sciences. The deportation of scientists said in a statement Thursday that “seriously undermines the fundamental freedoms, freedom of thinking, expression and travel in the academic world.”
Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed to the report from Washington, DC and Ségolène Le Stradic in Paris.
