Legal Victory for Indian Doctoral Student in South Dakota

Washington: Priya Saxena, a 28-year-old doctoral student from India, has secured a legal victory that allows her to remain in the United States. Recently graduating with a PhD in chemistry and bioengineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, she faced deportation due to complications with her student visa. Specifically, an issue arose when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) flagged her for a minor traffic violation from April.

After her visa expired, which was supposed to be valid until February 2027, her records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) were deleted. This situation nearly prevented her from completing her research and graduating, but she successfully walked across the stage last weekend.

Court documents reveal that the Trump administration revoked Saxena’s visa, citing a “criminal history.” However, her only violation stemmed from a minor traffic incident in 2021, where she did not stop for an emergency vehicle and subsequently paid the fine.

Her attorney noted that, under immigration law, such minor infractions should not be classified as foreign crimes.

This week, a federal court in South Dakota issued a preliminary injunction, preventing DHS from detaining or arresting her without court approval. The judge remarked that DHS’s actions seemed unlawful and could cause irreparable harm to Saxena.

Since January, the Trump administration has intensified its actions against immigrants, especially targeting international students. Many have lost their visas over minor infractions, including traffic incidents and participation in pro-Palestinian activities on campuses, even though most were legally residing in the U.S.

In a recent court hearing, DHS reported that they had searched the FBI database for the names of more than a million international students, uncovering 6,400 matches linked to criminal records, leading to the removal of around 3,000 visas.