Harvard Researcher Held In Louisiana Awaits Judge's Decision On Deportation To Russia

Kseniia Petrova never imagined she would face significant immigration issues, but it has been 68 days since she was detained at the Boston airport while traveling with undeclared frog embryo samples.

The Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher associate was in the United States legally. But she finds herself thrust into a detention system that has been in the national spotlight as President Donald Trump pursues his promise of mass deportations.

Petrova, 30, was sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana where she continues to await a judge's decision on whether she will be deported to Russia, where she fears she will be imprisoned or worse.

The Department of Homeland Security accuses Petrova of knowingly breaking the law, while friends and advocates are calling for her release and saying the incident was an infraction that normally would be punishable by a fine.

As Petrova spends days in a crowded dormitory awaiting her fate, her colleagues say their research, including using a one-of-a-kind cancer-detecting microscope, will be delayed or moot without the scientist who they say plays a critical role.