Who’s Afraid of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem? Certainly Not Priya Saxena

In what many observers are calling a moment of poetic justice, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced an awkward juxtaposition last Saturday when she accepted an honorary degree on a South Dakota stage while, across the state, the very woman she had been trying to deport was receiving her legitimately earned doctorate.

According to the Daily Mail, as Noem stood before a divided audience to receive her honorary doctorate in public service from Dakota State University, Dr. Priya Saxena was being introduced to cheering crowds at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City. The 28-year-old Indian student, who had been targeted for deportation by Noem’s department, walked across the stage to receive both her doctorate in chemical and biological engineering and a master’s degree in chemical engineering.

The contrast in reception couldn’t have been starker. While Saxena’s introduction as “Dr. Priya Saxena” prompted enthusiastic applause, Noem faced protesters outside the ceremony carrying signs with slogans like “A doctorate in graft I could understand” and chanting “no honor for Noem,” as reported by the Daily Mail.

A Deportation Effort Based on a Traffic Violation

At the heart of this controversy is what many legal experts consider an extremely flimsy pretext for deportation. According to Yahoo News, Saxena’s visa revocation was triggered by a criminal records check that uncovered a four-year-old misdemeanor traffic conviction – failing to pull over for an emergency vehicle with flashing yellow lights in Meade County in 2021.

The Times of India notes that Saxena’s student visa wasn’t scheduled to expire until 2027, giving her ample time to complete her studies and potentially secure employment in her field after graduation. What makes the case particularly unusual is that Saxena had already disclosed this misdemeanor charge to immigration officials when she obtained her most recent visa in 2022.

As Yahoo News reports, the criminal records check was part of a broader Trump administration action against more than 1,000 international students nationwide – not only for items appearing on their records but also for activities the administration described as “anti-Semitic,” such as protesting Israel’s war against Hamas.

Legal Challenge and Temporary Victory

Facing sudden visa revocation at 1 a.m. on April 7, less than a month before her graduation, Saxena initially planned to voluntarily return to India. “I was scared,” she testified in court, “and I had no idea what to do next.”

Instead, she sought legal counsel and, with attorney Jim Leach, sued Secretary Noem and the Department of Homeland Security. Their lawsuit alleged that it was illegal for the government to take immigration enforcement action against Saxena for an offense the government was aware of when it issued her current visa.

In a significant initial victory, a judge sided with Saxena earlier this month, issuing a temporary restraining order that barred the government from taking any action related to terminating her visa until a May 13 hearing. The order also specifically prevented Noem and her department from “interfering with Saxena’s freedom and from transferring Saxena out of the jurisdiction of the District of South Dakota during these proceedings,” according to the Daily Mail.

This judicial intervention allowed Saxena to receive the degrees she had been working toward for five years. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for this week.

University Politics and Ceremonial Decisions

The decision to honor Noem was itself controversial. The Daily Mail reports that both the student senate and general faculty at Dakota State University voted against awarding Noem an honorary degree, arguing it would be a highly politicized decision that would send a negative message to international students and marginalized communities.

However, a university spokesperson told South Dakota Searchlight that the decision was made while Noem was still Governor of South Dakota, citing her support of the university’s cybersecurity programs during her gubernatorial tenure.

During her speech, Noem encouraged graduates to “take your emergency brakes off” and emphasized that “the world still revolves on relationships” – perhaps an ironic statement given the relationship breakdown between her department and the international student community.

The Broader Context

The Saxena case highlights the tension between the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies and the academic community’s commitment to international scholarship. One protester at Noem’s ceremony expressed genuine concern for international students: “One thing that immediately came to my brain when I heard she was coming here was I was genuinely scared for the massive amounts of international students that we have on campus. That’s something we take pride in.”

This sentiment reflects the growing concern among educational institutions about how immigration policies might affect their ability to attract and retain international talent. The Times of India noted that the graduation ceremony at Dakota State included international students from Vietnam and India among those being honored.

What’s Next

As this story continues to unfold, the legal battle over Saxena’s immigration status returns to court this week. The outcome will likely have implications not just for her individual case but potentially for how similar cases involving international students are handled under the current administration’s deportation priorities.

For now, Dr. Priya Saxena has achieved what the Times of India called “the ultimate revenge” – receiving her hard-earned doctorate to cheers from the community, while Secretary Noem’s honorary degree celebration was overshadowed by protests and controversy.

The juxtaposition of these two ceremonies serves as a powerful symbol of the human impact of immigration policies and highlights the complex intersection of politics, education, and immigration in today’s America.