Indian PhD graduate Priya Saxena granted protection from deportation by US judge

Media7 May 17, 2025

May 17, 2025 02:43 PM IST

The federal court noted that during Saxena’s SEVIS record was termination, the policy stated visa revocation cannot be a cause for termination of SEVIS record.

Priya Saxena, a 28-year-old Indian student studying at a university in South Dakota, has been granted an injunction by a federal judge after the Donald Trump administration attempted to deport her. The injunction will lead to her staying in the country after receiving her degree. In April, Priya’s student visa was terminated which would have prevented her from graduating.

In April, Priya Saxena’s visa was revoked by the Department of Homeland Security over “criminal records”.(@Geopoliticalkid)

Reason for injunction

A document by the United States District Court of South Dakota states that her student visa was revoked by the Department of Homeland Security due to having a “criminal record.” The document also states minor traffic violation over “failure to stop for an emergency vehicle for which Priya paid a fine and informed the embassy prior to issuance of her current visa. According to her attorney, immigration law states that the minor infraction is not a deportable offence.

The court granted the injunction this week on the basis that DHS’s actions “appear unlawful and are likely to cause Saxena irreparable harm.” It said that the record does not contain a sufficient explanation for why Saxena’s SEVIS record was unlawfully and arbitrarily terminated. It also highlighted that DHS have failed to show that re-termination of her SEVIS record is not reasonably expected to recur.

Her visa, which was valid until February 2027, was terminated, deleting her Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) record. This made it difficult for her to continue her studies. In mid-April, Priya and her attorney sued the Trump administration and received a temporary restraining order from a federal judge, allowing her to graduate.

She challenged the visa revocation, arguing that DHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act and her Fifth Amendment right to due process. Priya recently received a doctorate in chemical and biological engineering from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

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