The Trump administration has moved to dismiss charges against a Harvard University researcher accused of illegally bringing frog embryos into the United States, a case that drew attention amid the administration's broader campaign targeting foreign students and faculty at American universities.
Kseniia Petrova, a scientist born in Russia, was detained after she failed to declare the items while passing through customs at an airport. She was threatened with deportation over the incident, which her lawyers described as the kind of infraction that would ordinarily be treated as a minor violation.
Instead, the administration canceled her visa and pursued her removal from the country. The effort unfolded at the height of a wider push against international students and academics on university campuses.
In its latest petition to the court, the government said it is abandoning the prosecution after the defense won a broad discovery order. That ruling would have compelled the administration to turn over information about other cases resembling Petrova's.
The petition states that the discovery order also grants the defendant's requests for policies and procedures concerning Customs and Border Protection border inspections, including material the government described as non-public information about the agency's operations and investigative techniques.
Prosecutors argued that pressing ahead would impose costs that are not justified. The government said it anticipates that additional discovery disputes and litigation of a motion to dismiss would divert significant time and attention from more substantial federal interests, adding that the costs of continuing the prosecution outweigh the public interest in its resolution.
Petrova's attorney, William Fick, welcomed the development in a statement to The New York Times. He said that throughout the proceedings his client had shown tremendous courage, and that the legal team was relieved that this chapter of what he called her terrible ordeal would soon be over.
The Hill has reached out to Petrova's legal representation for comment on the government's petition.
