It was an extraordinary moment. An immigrant student held the US vice president’s feet to the fire, but he held his own.

An exchange between JD Vance and a South Asian-origin student at the University of Mississippi threw up a conversation about America, in the most American way possible.

The woman, during the Q&A session of a Turning Point event, challenged Vance on the Donald Trump administration’s push to drastically reduce immigration numbers.

“When you talk about too many immigrants here, when did you guys decide the number? Why did you sell us a dream; you made us spend our youth and wealth in this country and gave us a dream. You don’t owe us anything; we have worked hard for it,” she said, drawing applause from the audience.

Earlier, while addressing students, Vance said, “We have to get the overall numbers way, way down,” though he did not specify what level of legal immigration he considers acceptable.

He added, “It’s far less than what we’ve been accepting.”

The woman, in her question, continued, “Then how can you as the vice president say that ‘we have too many of them now and we are going to take them out’ to people who are here rightfully by paying the money that you guys asked us?”

Visibly emotional, she added, "You gave us the path, and now how can you stop it and tell us we don’t belong here anymore?”

Vance defended admirably, reiterating that America must limit immigration to protect domestic interests. “We cannot have an immigration policy where what was good for the country 50 or 60 years ago binds the country inevitably for the future.”

He said those people to whom the country had made a promise, the country would honour that.

“But just because one person, 10 people or 100 people came in legally and contributing to the United States of America, does that mean that we are thereby committed to let in a million or ten million or hundred million people in the future,” he said.

“My job as the vice president of the US is not to look out for the interests of the whole world. It’s to look out for the people of the United States.”

His remarks drew loud applause from the audience.

In President Trump’s second term, his administration has deported thousands of illegal immigrants, continuing a tough immigration policy that has faced criticism from civil rights groups and immigrant communities. The Trump government also imposed restrictions on legal immigration through changes in the H-1B system. Moreover, around 6,000 visas of international students have also been revoked.

The woman also asked how and why being Christian had become a prerequisite to be truly American, and asked him about his Hindu wife and three children.

Vance, who took the questions on the chin without flinching, said that while his wife often attends church with him, he wishes she will someday be "moved" by the Christian gospel, like he had.

"I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way,” he said.

“If she doesn’t, then god says everybody has free will, so that doesn’t cause a problem for me," Vance said, adding that Usha Vance did not grow up in a particularly religious family.

The US vice president’s comments sparked an uproar on social media, with many criticising him for his remarks.

Some accused him of being "Hinduphobic" and trying to impose his Christian beliefs on his wife.

"He calls her agnostic. Afraid to admit her Hindu origin. Where has all this talk of religious freedom gone? They have this Congressionally mandated US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Charity should begin at home," wrote former Indian diplomat Kanwal Sibal.

Some others were biting in their sarcasm. “Hindu Raksha Dal, Bajrang Dal and VHP on their way to America to do Ghar wapis on JD Vance,” wrote Mohammed Zubair, a fact-checker who has had multiple run-ins with the BJP and right-wing groups in India.

Some Indian Americans lashed out. “Usha Vance isn’t an agnostic. JD Vance was,” one post said. “Little did she know this man would throw her under the bus for his presidential dream.”

“Usha Vance is Hindu not agnostic this is not very hard for you to follow. They even had a Vedic Hindu wedding and one of his kids name is Vivek,” another social media user wrote.

Usha Vance recently said she does not plan to convert to Catholicism. She explained that when she met JD Vance, he was not a Catholic, and after his conversion, they discussed the matter together. Speaking about their family’s approach to faith, she said their children will have the freedom to decide for themselves whether they want to be baptized as Catholics as they grow older.

Some people on social media praised JD Vance, hoping that Usha would convert, some pointed at the “hypocrisy”.

One said, “Praying for Usha. Grateful my husband converted a few months after I did. He is now a deacon. An equally yoked marriage is a blessing.”

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with what he said, the problem is with how the crowd would have reacted had he said he was raising his kids anything but Christian, say under Usha’s religion,” another user said.

The bottom line? Vance’s exchange with the student was a moment. What kind, depends on your perspective.