An international student from India who has a criminal record received her doctorate degree in South Dakota on Saturday after a judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking her visa.

Priya Saxena walked across the stage at South Dakota Mines on the same day that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the public face of Trump's mass deportation agenda, received an honorary degree from Dakota State University across the state.

Liberals are sure to celebrate the turn of events as an ironic rebuke of Trump's immigration crackdown, but the jubilation could be short-lived, with Saxena's fate still uncertain.

Foreign student sues Noem

The foreign student was swept up in the Department of Homeland Security's crackdown on international students, particularly visa holders who have participated in pro-Palestine protests tied to Hamas. The administration's aggressive moves have sparked backlash, with critics accusing officials of ignoring due process protections.

A criminal records check on Saxena turned up a misdemeanor conviction in 2021 for failing to stop for an emergency vehicle. The Trump administration says she was detained for driving under the influence, but her lawyer claims the test came back clear.

“She was picked up on suspicion of DUI back in 2021. When the blood was tested, she had a lawful level of alcohol in her blood. The state never proceeded on the DUI charges, they were dismissed she pleaded to a traffic violation,” attorney Jim Leach said.

The Trump administration moved to revoke Saxena's visa, which was set to expire in 2027, citing her alleged failure to disclose her criminal record.

Saxena sued to fight her removal, arguing her misdemeanor traffic violation is not a "deportable offense" and that she disclosed her conviction when she renewed her visa.

She also took care to distinguish her case from those involving campus protests, claiming she "has not been involved in any political activity, has not attended any demonstrations, and has not made any statements about controversial public matters."

Not out of the woods

Judge Karen Schreier, an appointee of President Clinton, restored Saxena's student record and temporarily blocked the Trump administration from targeting her visa, allowing her to accept her doctorate degree in biomedical and chemical engineering on Saturday.

The DHS is "temporarily enjoined 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 judge's ruling.

Although permitted to graduate, Saxena is still facing the possibility of deportation, with the judge's restraining order set to expire at the end of this week.

Meanwhile, Noem was greeted with protests outside Dakota State University, where she gave a commencement speech.

"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," one demonstrator said. "That's something we take pride in."