An Indian student, Priya Saxena, who has been a target of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, received resounding cheers from the crowd as she crossed the stage at her graduation ceremony at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City. The US Department of Homeland Security, now led by Noem, had sought to deport Saxena since last month, citing a four-year-old misdemeanour conviction for failing to yield to flashing yellow lights as grounds for revoking her stay.
Saxena earned two degrees from South Dakota Mines— a doctorate in chemical and biological engineering, and a master’s degree in chemical engineering.
Noem faced the “ultimate humiliation as she accepted an honorary degree” on stage in South Dakota on Saturday, The Daily Mail reported.
Noem was heckled by protesters who rallied against her honorary degree, the report added.
This is as they disagreed with her work as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, leading the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out the nation’s largest mass deportation scheme.
WHY PRIYA SAXENA’S US VISA IN TROUBLE?
Saxena’s student visa was valid until 2027, giving her time to remain in the US unless she failed to obtain a work visa in her field.
In response to the deportation efforts, Priya filed a lawsuit against Noem and sought a restraining order, arguing that she had disclosed the misdemeanour charge during her visa application process and that it does not constitute a deportable offence.
The lawsuit also noted that she “has not been involved in any political activity, has not attended any demonstrations, and has not made any statements about controversial public matters”, according to the report.
Earlier this month, a judge ruled in Saxena’s favour, issuing an order that temporarily blocked the government from acting on her visa termination until a May 13 hearing — allowing her to receive the degree she had spent five years pursuing.
Noem and her department were also temporarily barred from interfering with Saxena’s liberty or transferring her out of the District of South Dakota while the legal proceedings were underway.
STUDENTS, FACULTY PROTESTED AGAINST NOEM’S HONORARY DEGREE
Both the student senate and the general faculty voted against awarding Noem an honorary degree, contending that doing so would be a politicised gesture with negative implications for international students and marginalised communities.
However, a university spokesperson told local news website, South Dakota Searchlight, that the decision to award Noem an honorary degree and invite her to speak at the ceremony was made while she was still serving as Governor of South Dakota.
The invitation was extended due to Noem’s longstanding support of the university’s cybersecurity programs while she was in that role, the spokesperson said.
While protesters were not permitted inside the building, they gathered outside, chanting loudly as they lined the streets, shouting ‘no honor for Noem’ and calling her ‘cruel’.
“One thing that immediately came to my brain when I heard she was coming here was I was genuinely scared of the massive amounts of international students that we have on campus,” The Daily Mail quoted one of the demonstrators as saying.
Graduates being honoured at the ceremony included international students from Vietnam and India.
