Harvard Scientist Detained by ICE Over Frog Embryos

Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist at Harvard Medical School, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for failing to declare non-hazardous frog embryos at Boston Logan Airport. Despite the standard penalty being a $500 fine, her visa was revoked, and she is held in a Louisiana ICE facility, facing potential deportation to Russia, where she fears persecution due to her anti-war activism against the war in Ukraine. Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, criticizes CBP for overstepping its authority. The embryos were brought from France at the request of her Harvard supervisor, Leonid Peshkin, who admitted error. Harvard and her colleagues are advocating for her release, highlighting her essential role in scientific research.