International students at the University of Wyoming (UW) face mounting uncertainty about their future in the United States. The Trump administration is battling courts over its hardline immigration policies and has authorized federal immigration agents to enter “sensitive” areas like churches and college campuses.
At UW, six students saw their visa records deleted without warning, then reinstated. International students are afraid to speak publicly, and the offices that serve them have turned down interview requests.
But Abdalrahim Abuwarda, one of UW’s more than 600 international students, has been outspoken about his life on campus. Hailing from Gaza, Abuwarda is pursuing a Ph.D. in Laramie, half a world away from a war that has claimed more than 50,000 lives and left thousands of children starving. Abuwarda says his visa is a lifeline for him, his wife and their three children.
Editor’s Note: This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
My name is Abdulrahim Abuwarda. I am originally from Gaza, from Palestine, and I came here to the University of Wyoming three years ago to do my master’s [in] international studies. I recently started doing my Ph.D. here as well at UW in public humanities in the English Department. And I have a family here that came to Wyoming last year.
I came to Wyoming by myself. I was part of the Fulbright Scholarship to do my master’s, and one of their policies is that, as a Palestinian, I'm not allowed to bring my dependents to the United States. So they stayed there in Gaza.
I did my master’s for the whole two years without them. And then recently they came here, and my wife is doing her master’s in international studies here. That's how she was able to come to the U.S. — by getting a graduate assistantship here. And then she brought the kids with her.
The first two years here, they were very difficult because I did not have them around. Of course, the people here, like in Laramie, the community were amazing. My friends and colleagues and professors and teachers, everyone has been always supportive, and they understood my situation, especially when the war on Gaza started. They were very, very supportive. They [would] contact me and talk to me on a daily basis. And some of my friends would even make me food here during these times.
It was really difficult for me, because my family was still in Gaza during the war, and they were not able to get out of Gaza. Then eventually, with the help of people from here, from Laramie, the U.S., I managed to get them out to Egypt, to evacuate them to Egypt.
You have to pay a bribe to the Egyptian authorities. Before the war, the bribe was like $1,000 for an individual. But during the war, it became like $5,000 for an individual. So I have my wife and three kids. So actually we paid more than we are supposed to.
We got them to Egypt. Then my wife started applying for scholarships here and programs here, and finally she got accepted, and she came to the U.S. It’s a huge relief, because there's this constant fear that something is going to happen to them.
My kids were not doing well when they were in Gaza because of the lack of food and water and, like, health. My youngest daughter had cholera. We were scared that something was going to happen to her. That's why I contacted a lot of my friends here in Wyoming and the U.S., and they helped me secure the money and get them to Egypt.
Now [my daughter] is fine. She gained a lot of weight. She plays all the time. She's having the best times of her life here in Wyoming.
Actually, my three kids are having a lot of fun here in Wyoming. My oldest goes to school. He's in Indian Paintbrush, and he loves it so much. He loves his friends, and he's building a community around himself.
He knew nothing in the English language. But luckily, the school was amazing, and they assigned an English language learning specialist for him, and she helped him a lot acquiring the language, and now he communicates. He has a friend and he goes to their birthday parties, and they come to his birthday party, and he has a lot of fun.
When they were in Gaza, they were deprived of almost everything, like the house. They were moving constantly, moving from one place to another, from one shelter to another, from one school to another, from one tent to another, and there was no food, no clean water, no electricity, of course, no TV, nothing.
My oldest was in school. He was in the first grade, and then the war started and he stopped, so he missed the whole year. He's supposed to be in the second grade, so he missed a grade, and now, when he came to the U.S., he started from the first grade. But at least he's back to school.
Here it's way, way better for my kids and for my family.
Luckily, all of our documents are legal. Everything is okay. Like we have the visas, we have the DS-19s and the I-20s. These are the documents, the permits, to stay in the U.S. We have everything covered from that angle because even before the newest administration came to office, I was making sure that I don't miss anything with my legal status.
I'm scared. I'm not only worried. I just told you how life was in Gaza, and now how life is for me and my family in the U.S. It's kind of stable. I'm doing my Ph.D. My wife is doing her master’s. This will help us in the future to secure decent jobs. My kids go to school. They have friends. We have a life here.
Wyoming is our home. The U.S. is our home now. So imagine after this kind of stability, going back to zero.
And for us as Palestinians, it's way worse than other countries, because we don't have a country to go back to. So, is it gonna be detention? Imagine, for me, a father and my wife, something happens to us, like, what is going to happen to our kids?
It's like a constant fear for me and my wife. Every single day, we think of that. And sometimes you even think of leaving the country, but it's not an easy option to leave. Where to go? Like to go to Canada now? Things are not that promising in Canada. And with this administration, to go to Europe is not an easy thing. So yeah, it's terrifying.
This administration is very focused on the whole immigration thing, but at the same time, I'm a decent citizen here in the U.S. I have never done anything wrong. I'm building a community around me. I'm immersing in the culture. I love the American culture. I love the American people. I love people here in Wyoming and Laramie especially. I built a huge community around me. I'm paying my taxes. I'm doing everything according to the book, and at the same time, I'm living in this constant fear. So this is what I want to say: It's unfair to me and to everyone like me to suffer and struggle from this.
People here in Laramie are amazing, and they have been very helpful to me and to my family and to other minorities and immigrants. I like this about this community. It's a small community, where you feel you are visible, and everyone can see you, and they are willing to help.
