Russian Harvard scientist detained by US immigration after overseas trip: Report

ISTANBUL

A Russian researcher at Harvard Medical School has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after her visa was revoked upon reentering the country from an overseas trip, according to a report by The Guardian on Friday.

Kseniia Petrova, a genome research specialist, was stopped at Boston Logan International Airport on Feb. 16 after returning from France. Authorities told her that her visa had been revoked and that she would be deported to Russia, despite concerns that she may face political persecution, her friends and colleagues said.

Petrova, who had previously protested the Russian government's invasion of Ukraine and was arrested for it, feared returning to Russia. Instead, she was taken into ICE custody and moved to a detention facility -- first in Vermont, then in Louisiana -- according to her colleague Cora Anderson.

Her supervisor, Leon Peshkin, told reporters that Petrova had a valid work visa and had legally traveled to France. During the trip, she agreed to bring frog embryo samples back to the US for lab research. Although the import was legal, she allegedly made an error on a customs declaration, prompting further scrutiny upon her arrival in Boston.

Although the typical penalty for such an infraction usually results in a fine, immigration officials denied Petrova re-entry and placed her in detention, Peshkin said.

Petrova had fled Russia following her arrest for anti-war protests and initially relocated to Georgia before eventually moving to the US to continue her academic work.

Supporters have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover her legal expenses as she awaits an asylum hearing.