Though I deplore detention and deportation for immigration violations, it’s worth mentioning in this case that this poor woman was asked to bring some biological samples back from France by her adviser and didn’t declare them. That’s not in the headline.

There is no suggestion in the article that she is being detained for her opposition to the Ukraine war.

She probably doesn’t have a great case. The culpable party here is 1000% her adviser who asked her to bring the samples back given “the complications [her adviser] Peshkin has experienced when French colleagues try to mail him research samples.” (Ok so you aren’t supposed to bring such material here…)

It’s unconscionable and incredibly stupid to put a foreign student at risk by asking for such a “favor”, which she surely didn’t feel in a position to refuse. He shouldn’t even have asked an American (who can’t be deported) to do such a thing!