Russian scientist from Harvard Medical School detained in U.S., faces deportation and likely arrest upon return due to anti-war stance

A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School (HMS) has been detained in the United States and placed in immigration detention. According to multiple independent Russian media outlets and the scientist’s friends, she now faces possible deportation to Russia, where she could be subject to political persecution over her anti-war stance.

The news of her detention was shared on Facebook by her friend and colleague Cora Anderson. Friends of the scientist also launched a GoFundMe campaign, which has already raised over $39,000 to support her legal and living expenses. “Kseniia is in danger,” a person familiar with the case told the Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit’ (lit. “We Can Explain”).

Kseniia, a Russian bioinformatics researcher, arrived in Boston from the Republic of Georgia in the spring of 2023 to work at Harvard Medical School. She had been compelled to leave Russia due to her outspoken anti-war stance, which could have led to criminal charges back home. While her surname was not disclosed in the original posts, Mozhem Obyasnit’ was able to locate her Facebook page, suggesting her name is Kseniya (Kseniia) Petrova, a graduate of MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology). Her page includes multiple posts criticizing the Russian government and denouncing the invasion of Ukraine. Petrova's page on Linkedin listed her as an associate researcher at Harvard Medical School working in Dr. Marc Kirschner's lab in the Department of Systems Biology.

On Feb. 16, after returning from a personal trip to France, she was detained at Boston Logan International Airport, where her visa was revoked. When Kseniia stated that she feared persecution if she were to return to Russia, she was transferred to immigration detention, first in Vermont, then in Louisiana. She is now being held in an ICE detention facility, in a room shared with 80 other women.

According to her friend Andrei Shevtsov, who spoke to the independent exiled Russian news outlet Agentstvo, the visa was revoked and Kseniia was detained after undeclared frog embryo samples were found in her luggage.

Leon Peshkin, Petrova’s supervisor at Harvard Medical School, confirmed to The Guardian that he had asked her to collect a box of frog embryo samples from colleagues in France and bring them back to the lab — calling it “a huge mistake.”

In a LinkedIn post from seven months ago, Petrova explained that frog specimens are essential for studying protein phosphorylation during oocyte meiotic divisions using phosphoproteomics — a method that can help clarify the regulation of meiosis, egg cell maturation, and related reproductive disorders.

According to Peshkin, the import of the samples was legal, but Petrova made an error in completing the U.S. customs declaration, which led to her being stopped by customs officers upon arrival at Boston’s Logan Airport — and denied re-entry into the country.

Petrova’s attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, argued that her failure to declare an item at customs — a violation typically punishable by a fine of up to $500 and confiscation of the item — did not give U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the legal grounds to revoke her visa. Petrova has filed two legal petitions — one for habeas corpus and another for asylum — through her attorney seeking release from immigration detention.

Petrova was initially given two options after being stopped by CBP: return to France and reapply for a visa, or face deportation and a five-year entry ban. She chose to return to France, but when she informed a CBP officer that she feared political persecution if sent back to Russia, the agency opted to detain her instead, according to a petition filed by her attorney, Gregory Romanovsky.

“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.

Peshkin added that Petrova is currently in ICE custody awaiting an asylum hearing scheduled for May 7. While she is eligible for parole during the wait — and a request for her release has been filed — “paroles are now not happening,” the scientist said.

Romanovsky described Petrova as an ideal candidate for parole, but warned that the chances of her release remain slim, citing ICE’s continued “zero-tolerance, no-release mode” under the Trump administration.

“It all falls on deaf ears,” Romanovsky told The Harvard Crimson. “They’re not releasing many people, if anyone, at the moment.”

Peshkin's wife, fellow scientist Virginia Savova, also commented on the situation. She and Peshkin are currently supporting Petrova during her detention:

“She is still in detention and no answers or timelines.... we have accepted it, send money for snacks and phone calls, sent her some books. Talk to her every day. That's it. Does the rule of law in the USA not exist anymore? We learned there are many people like us, Canadians, Germans... And that is about it. The new normal.”

Despite having legal representation — and despite the fact that no formal charges have been filed against her — Kseniia remains in ICE custody, with her release date uncertain. Supporters are currently helping her apply for a new work visa, but the process is expected to take several months, during which she cannot work legally, according to her support group.

The U.S. has resumed deportations of Russian nationals, including asylum seekers, despite the risks of persecution they face upon return to their home country. In March 2023, The Guardian reported on the case of a Russian man deported after fleeing mobilization — the mass military conscription program ordered by Vladimir Putin in September 2022. Legal experts say U.S. courts often overlook threats such as forced conscription or political repression. Many of those detained had used the CBP One app — a U.S. government tool that allows migrants and asylum seekers to schedule legal entry at the U.S. border.