Overview

• Kseniia Petrova, a Russian researcher at Harvard Medical School, remains in ICE detention after failing to declare frog embryo samples at customs in February.
• An immigration judge ruled that the government’s deportation paperwork was legally insufficient, scheduling a validity hearing for late July.
• Petrova’s asylum hearing, citing fear of persecution in Russia due to anti-war activism, is set for May 7, with a habeas hearing scheduled for May 14.
• Her detention has disrupted cancer-detection research at Harvard reliant on her expertise and imported samples.
• Critics argue Petrova’s treatment reflects a broader trend of strict immigration enforcement impacting international scholars in the U.S.