Russian Harvard Medical School researcher detained

Harvard Medical School researcher Kseniia Petrova was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after she failed to disclose frog embryos she brought into the country.  

Petrova’s attorney is fighting for her release from a Louisiana detention center after Customs and Border Protection stopped her at Boston Logan International Airport on Feb. 16 when she was coming back from France, according to the filing.

Her J-1 nonimmigrant visa was revoked for failing to declare frog embryos she brought back, and agents told her she could return to France and reapply, but when she said she feared for her safety in Russia they detained her.  

Petrova, a Russian citizen, was previously arrested in her home country for protesting the war against Ukraine.

Gregory Romanovsky, her lawyer, argues forgetting to declare an item is a $500 fine and the officers had no authority to revoke her visa.

“They definitely overstepped their authority by punishing Kseniia through the immigration penalties, as opposed to what they were supposed to do,” Romanovsky said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson.

A Harvard spokesperson confirmed Petrova is a research associate at the medical school and the university is “monitoring this situation.” 

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest to The Hill, saying that she was “lawfully detained” after lying to federal officers.

“A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits,” a DHS spokesperson said in the statement. “Messages found 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,” they added.

Petrova’s detention comes as the Trump administration has been cracking down on pro-Palestinian foreign students, revoking visas and attempting to deport individuals.

It is not clear if she was involved in any of the pro-Palestinian activities on campus.  

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced at least 300 foreign students have had their visas revoked in the past two months — including staff and students at Georgetown University, the University of Alabama and Tufts University.

Updated at 12:35 p.m. EDT.

Harvard Medical School researcher Kseniia Petrova was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after she failed to disclose frog embryos she brought into the country.   Petrova’s attorney is fighting for her release from a Louisiana detention center after Customs and Border Protection stopped her at Boston Logan International Airport on Feb. 16 when she…