How Kenyan Students Balance Studies and Immigration Fears in the US

Kenyan students studying in the United States are taking extra precautions to protect their immigration status as tighter immigration policies continue to shape their daily lives and future plans.

For many, studying in the US remains a valuable opportunity, but it also requires constant awareness of changing immigration rules. Students are balancing academic goals with concerns about travel, employment and the possibility of sudden policy changes.

At Bates College in Maine, 20-year-old engineering student Margaret Ndirangu carries her passport, I-20 form and letters from the college whenever she leaves her residence. The documents confirm that she is legally in the country. "You carry everything," she says. "It gives you peace of mind."

Margaret divides her time between her engineering studies and shifts at the college's IT desk. Although her routine is focused on university life, she says carrying her documents at all times has become part of her daily schedule.

Her journey to the United States followed a difficult period in Kenya, where she put her education on hold while caring for her ill uncle. She later joined the Kenya Scholar Athlete Project (KenSap), which helped her secure admission to Bates College with a full scholarship. 

Her student visa was approved only days before immigration rules became more restrictive, avoiding the difficulties experienced by some applicants whose visas were later refused despite meeting the requirements. Life on campus has also been affected by immigration enforcement. 

After reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity near Bates College, the university advised international students not to go out alone and arranged grocery deliveries to reduce the need for travel.

"Having all those rules around you, it makes you feel uneasy," Margaret says.

Despite these concerns, she continues to focus on her studies while working part-time at the university, earning up to Sh129,000 a month. Outside her academic work, she enjoys tennis and knitting and hopes to pursue postgraduate studies in Europe.

At Bowdoin College, Kenyan student Jada Amani faces similar concerns. She has not travelled back to Kenya since arriving in the United States because she fears changes to immigration policy could prevent her from returning to complete her degree.

"If Kenya is banned, how am I finishing my degree?" she says.

Jada says she misses her family, especially her grandmother, as well as familiar Kenyan food. Like Margaret, she carries her immigration documents whenever she leaves campus following reports of ICE operations nearby.

She also says the changing immigration environment has affected employment opportunities after graduation. Many employers have reduced or stopped sponsoring work visas because of the cost, leaving international graduates with fewer options.

"Only the big companies like Google and Apple offer sponsorships," she says, adding that competition for those positions is intense.

Jada is studying mathematics and computer science and supports herself with part-time work at the college's IT department. She earns between Sh77,600 and Sh130,000 each month. She has adjusted to Maine's cold winters by joining dance clubs, relying on support from fellow students and using a light therapy lamp to help manage seasonal depression.