An international student in western South Dakota overcame Kristi Noem’s attempt to stop her from graduating Saturday, while hundreds of people protested on the other side of the state where Noem received an honorary degree and delivered a commencement speech.

The international student is Priya Saxena, from India. She received two degrees from South Dakota Mines in Rapid City: a doctorate in chemical and biological engineering and a master’s degree in chemical engineering.

Noem’s U.S. Department of Homeland Security — which she has led since resigning as South Dakota governor in January — has been trying to deport Saxena since last month, asserting that Saxena’s permission to stay in the country should be revoked because she was convicted four years ago of failing to move over for flashing yellow lights, a misdemeanor. The action is part of a broader immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.

Saxena’s student visa is not scheduled to expire until 2027, and if allowed to stay in the country, she could apply for an extension to work in fields related to her degrees.

Saxena and her attorney, Jim Leach, of Rapid City, sued and won a temporary restraining order that assured Saxena’s graduation and will halt the government’s action against her until at least next week, when she has a hearing on her request for a court order to stop her deportation while the lawsuit proceeds. Saxena and her attorney have said in court filings that she has not committed a deportable offense, and have called the government’s actions “lawless.”

Saxena’s graduation went smoothly Saturday as she crossed the stage and received applause from the audience at Summit Arena in Rapid City. Her attorney and a university spokeswoman said Saxena preferred not to make any public comments.

Meanwhile in Madison

About 350 miles to the east at Dakota State University in Madison, Noem’s speech and her acceptance of an honorary doctorate in public service went off without a hitch inside the university fieldhouse, where she did not reference the protesters or make any comments about her official duties.

Outside, she was loudly opposed.

Students and community members lined the sidewalks chanting phrases including “no honor for Noem” and “due process.” Protesters said they were spotlighting Noem’s “cruel” immigration policies and the university’s decision to invite her to graduation.

“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,” said student Maya Plummer. “That’s something we take pride in.”

The ceremony in Madison included foreign students from countries such as Vietnam and India.

Noem’s department has pursued enforcement actions against more than 1,000 international students. It has also removed temporary protected status for immigrants who fled danger in their home country, wrongly deported a Maryland man to a notorious prison in El Salvador, aired TV ads warning migrants to self-deport or avoid coming to the United States, and launched an initiative to provide up to $1,000 in “travel assistance” to immigrants without legal authorization who self-deport, among other actions.

This week, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, accused Noem of running a department that’s “out of control,” saying it’s at risk of spending all of its $65 billion in funding before the end of the fiscal year.

The Dakota State University student senate and general faculty both voted against the honorary degree for Noem, citing concerns over Noem’s policies and the message her recognition would send to international students and marginalized communities.

University spokespeople said they extended the invitation for Noem to speak and receive the honorary degree while she was still governor of South Dakota. The invite was based on her longstanding support of the university’s nationally recognized cybersecurity programs.

Dakota State President José-Marie Griffiths said in her speech that Noem is among “a number of individuals who were instrumental in changing the trajectory of this institution” in recent decades. She said the university was transformed from one that was losing enrollment to one that’s thriving as a flagship institution for computer technology.

“And by the way, there were protests for that decision, too,” Griffiths said.

Noem gave students a five-point bullet list of advice during her approximately 10-minute speech.

She told students their education is important, “But I will tell you that the world still revolves on relationships. People will be successful based on the people that they know and the people that they spend time with.”

Her other advice for students included, “You believed in Santa Claus for many years, at least believe in yourself for five minutes.”

Attendees react

Among attendees, there were conflicting views about the protest. Some family members of graduates expressed frustration that the controversy overshadowed the event.

“Honestly, it’s shocking because I feel like we should be here just celebrating the graduates,” said Anico David of Sioux Falls, whose sister graduated. “People are making it bigger than it should be with all this protesting. In my opinion, it’s kind of out of pocket and unnecessary.”

Max Lerchen, who earned a master’s degree, said honoring Noem “does not reflect the values that are held by the university,” such as inclusion. He said university officials should have expected opposition, and protesters should not be blamed for pushing back.

“They knew it was going to be an unpopular decision to begin with,” he said. “I think that’s similar to being picked on by a bully, and you decide to fight back, and then people go, ‘Why did you fight back?’”

Andrew Sogn, a spokesman for Dakota State University, said the institution hoped for “a celebratory atmosphere, and recognition of the graduates and their hard work.”

When asked about the students and faculty who opposed Noem’s honorary degree and speech, he said it was welcome, “because I think that we encourage open conversation and freedom of expression.”

South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, said Wednesday he will introduce legislation that would authorize President-elect Donald Trump to purchase the Panama Canal “if he can get a good deal.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not,” Johnson said, “but I do know I want to give President Trump the flexibility he needs to examine it.”

Those comments came during a Wednesday evening tele-town hall with constituents. Earlier in the day, Johnson spoke about the idea on Fox News. He will introduce the bill Friday, he said, ahead of a dinner he plans to attend Sunday with the president-elect and other guests at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.

Trump said Tuesday during a press conference that he would not rule out using military force to take control of the canal.

The United States built the Panama Canal in the early 1900s. In 1977, in response to Panamanian demands for control of the canal, then-President Jimmy Carter signed treaties that led to a full transfer in 1999.

Carter gave a speech at the time saying the agreements would convert Panama from a “passive and sometimes deeply resentful bystander into an active and interested partner,” and would lead to “cooperation and not confrontation” between the U.S. and Panama.

A company in Hong Kong, CK Hutchison Holdings, currently operates seaports on each side of the canal. Hong Kong is a former British Colony that has maintained a separate government and economic system since being handed over to China in 1997.

Fears have risen about China’s potentially growing influence over the canal as China has exerted more influence over Hong Kong in recent years.

Johnson said that’s a problem for the United States, which sends 40% of its ocean shipping container traffic through the canal.

“Donald Trump wants to kill the trade deficit,” Johnson said. “We can’t do that if we can’t count on the Panama Canal.”

South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.

Kristi Noem owes South Dakotans an explanation for the embarrassment she’s caused herself and the state.

The Republican governor has not yet told us how or why she included a false story in her forthcoming book about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Margaret Brennan of “Face the Nation” pressed Noem for an answer Sunday on CBS.

Noem replied, “This anecdote shouldn’t have been in the book, and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I made sure that that was adjusted.”

So Noem would have us believe that she didn’t know until last week — when The Dakota Scout broke the story — that her own memoir falsely claimed she had met one of the world’s most notorious dictators.

The relevant portion of the book isn’t a passing mention of Kim’s name. It’s a full-on boast.

“I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un,” Noem wrote. “I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”

How could such a passage be included without Noem’s knowledge, when she’s the only credited author? South Dakotans aren’t as dumb as she apparently thinks we look, so we can deduce three possibilities:

She fabricated the story and thought nobody would catch her in the lie.She met some other official from an Asian country and mistook or misremembered that person as Kim Jong Un.She relied on a ghostwriter so heavily that she didn’t read her own book before it went to the printer.

We can rule out the third possibility, because we know Noem read her own manuscript. Prior to anyone else reading it, she posted social media videos of herself narrating the audiobook.

That leaves two explanations: She lied, or she’s incompetent. When those are the only answers, it’s no wonder she avoids the question.

Noem’s other starring television role this weekend was on “ Saturday Night Live” — but not as the host. Instead, she was the butt of several jokes about another portion of her book, in which she disclosed that she fatally shot a hunting dog and a billy goat.

The show’s focus on Noem made it abundantly clear that she’s the main object of ridicule in the country right now. That’s no small feat while a former president is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payments to a porn star.

The governor’s shocking fall is an abrupt flip of the script for South Dakotans, after Noem and her enablers spent the past few years promoting her rising political fame as a boon to the state.

Now South Dakotans can only wait to see how far Noem might drag down the state’s reputation before she hits rock bottom. With the book not even scheduled to be released until Tuesday — all the damage so far has arisen from advance copies — who knows what further humiliation might be in store.

Noem intended the book’s title, “ No Going Back,” as a rallying cry for her plans to move the country forward. Instead, it now stands as a sadly ironic reference to a turning point in her career.

But the title isn’t the only ironic part of the book. Its 200-plus pages include pronouncements by Noem that “excuses are not accepted” in her state, and that “we need truth from our leaders.”

Perhaps Noem should take her own advice by dropping the excuses, telling the truth about why the false Kim Jong Un anecdote is in her book, and saving what little dignity she and her state have left.

South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com. Follow South Dakota Searchlight on Facebook and Twitter.