Detention of Harvard scientist by ICE threatens breakthrough in cancer research

A cutting-edge microscope at Harvard Medical School may hold the key to revolutionary cancer diagnostics and aging research, but its full potential is now in limbo, as the scientist crucial to decoding its images sits in US immigration detention.

Kseniia Petrova, a 30-year-old Russian-born researcher, has spent two months at ICE's Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana after being arrested at Boston's Logan Airport in February, NBC News reported on Tuesday.

She had worked at Harvard's Kirschner Lab, where she developed vital computer scripts to analyse microscopic imagery.

Petrova is facing possible deportation to Russia, where she fears persecution due to her stance on Ukraine war.

Her arrest came after she reportedly failed to properly declare frog embryo samples used in her research. US officials allege she lied to border officers about the contents of her luggage—a claim Petrova denies, saying she was confused by the process and left in the dark about her fate.

"They asked if I have any biological samples in my luggage. I said yes," Petrova said. "Nobody knew what was happening to me. I didn't have any contact, not to my lawyer … not to anybody. And the next day, they didn't say what would happen. I was waiting in a cell."

Petrova's lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, says Customs and Border Protection typically imposes two penalties for such customs violations: the forfeiture of the items and a fine, usually around $500, and that "for a first-time violation, the fine is typically reduced to $50".

Instead, officials cancelled Petrova's J-1 scholar visa. Her first immigration court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Dr Leon Peshkin, her mentor and a principal research scientist at Harvard's Department of Systems Biology, called the incident "horrifying" and said growing fears among international researchers are already prompting an exodus from US institutions.

Recent data cited by NBC News shows that more than 1,550 international students and graduates have had their legal status changed, and over two dozen lawsuits have been filed to contest visa terminations.

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Source: TRT