‘We May Never See Her Again’

Two years ago, Russian-born scientist Kseniia Petrova started working for Harvard Medical School’s renowned Kirschner Lab after being recommended and recruited by top international scientists. Today, Petrova is being held by ICE in Louisiana, leaving her groundbreaking cancer detection research paused indefinitely.

In an interview with NBC News, the 30-year-old scientist said she was afraid of being deported to Russia. Petrova has protested against the war in Ukraine and thinks her political views could lead to possible jail time and persecution. “If you want to say something against Putin, there is no way you won’t be in prison. There is no way you won’t be arrested,” she said.

Before being locked up by ICE, Petrova was developing computer scripts to read and analyze images taken with a groundbreaking microscope in cancer detection and longevity research. According to Petrova’s colleagues, she is the only person with the skill level necessary to develop these scripts.

When Dr. Leon Peshkin, a principal research scientist at Harvard’s Department of Systems Biology and Petrova’s manager, was asked if anyone else in his department could develop the scripts she was working on, he said: “That was only her. It was only her.”

Petrova was detained on February 16 at the Logan International Airport after a personal trip to France for failing to declare frog samples in her luggage. She said it was all a misunderstanding, claiming to have declared the biological matter, but is open to the possibility of having misinterpreted the questions directed at her.

Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, told NBC News his client was unjustly punished. He added that CBP usually imposes fines of up to $500 for customs violations, but this time they decided to cancel Petrova’s J-1 scholar visa. A DHS spokesperson told the outlet on Monday that the Russian immigrant had been “lawfully detained” for “lying to federal officers.”

Romanovsky thinks Petrova’s case is part of “a broader effort to create an unwelcoming and hostile environment for noncitizens.”

Petrova is currently being held at ICE’s Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana. Her colleague and housemate, Dr. William Trim, recently visited her to give her some books she had requested to keep up with her research from the correctional center, where she is fighting against deportation to Russia. “We may never see her again,” Trim told NBC.

Petrova compared the immigration detention system to a “grinding machine.” “We are in this machine, and it doesn’t care if you have a visa, a green card, or any particular story. … It just keeps going,” she said.

Meanwhile, U.S. universities are having a hard time retaining and recruiting top international scholars. The scientific journal Nature recently surveyed 1,600 international scientists in the U.S.; 75% of them are reportedly considering relocating to Europe or Canada, citing the Trump administration’s recent “actions,” from defunding research programs to deporting students with valid residence permits.

On Monday, a group of 17 U.S. senators signed a letter addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd M. Lyons demanding Petrova’s release. “We are deeply concerned about the possibility that Petrova could face persecution if deported to Russia,” they wrote. “We urge the Administration to ensure full due process in her case and take all appropriate and necessary measures to ensure she is not deported to Russia.”