Almost 200,000 Ukrainians in the US found themselves in legal uncertainty due to the country's President Donald Trump's "immigration crackdown," Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to internal US government data reviewed by Reuters, the Trump administration's delays in processing a humanitarian program for Ukrainians, launched by former Democratic President Joe Biden, put nearly 200,000 people at risk of losing their legal status as of March 31. The number of Ukrainians affected by the delays had not been previously reported.
Reuters spoke to two dozen Ukrainians who lost their work permits — and jobs — due to processing delays for status renewals, including tech workers, a preschool teacher, a financial planner, an interior designer, and a college student. They described digging into their savings, seeking community support, and taking on debt to support themselves while awaiting decisions on their status.
Some of the people interviewed by Reuters said they worried they could be detained by US immigration authorities. Others said they were staying home or had left the US for Canada, Europe, and South America.
The Trump administration suspended processing applications and renewals for the Ukrainian humanitarian program in January, citing security concerns.
Trump said in March that he was weighing whether to fully revoke the legal status of Ukrainians. Ultimately, Trump did not end the program, and in May, a federal judge ordered officials to resume processing status renewal applications.
But since then, US immigration officials have processed only 1,900 status renewal applications for Ukrainians and other nationalities, a significant fraction of those whose status is expiring, according to US government data released last week as part of a lawsuit.
Meanwhile, a spending package signed by Trump in July added a $1,000 fee to such humanitarian applications — in addition to a $1,325 per person fee.
The White House referred questions about the Ukrainian humanitarian program to the US Department of Homeland Security, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Ann Smith, executive director and regulatory advisor for the Ukraine Immigration Task Force, a legal coalition formed to assist those who fled the war to the US, said her network of lawyers receives several calls a week from Ukrainians reporting that their family members are being detained by immigration authorities. She said Ukrainians have been detained at construction sites, while delivering food or working as Uber or truck drivers, and during broader raids in Chicago and Greater Cleveland.
50 Ukrainians deported from the USA returned to Ukraine - SBGS18.11.25, 22:41 • [views_4239]
Addition
The humanitarian program, introduced in April 2022, allowed nearly 260,000 Ukrainians to enter the US for an initial two-year period.
This is a small fraction of the 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees worldwide, 5.3 million of whom are in Europe, according to United Nations refugee data.