About 200,000 Ukrainians in the US at high risk due to Trump administration's delay - Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
The legal status of over 200,000 Ukrainians in the US is at risk due to delays and new immigration system rules introduced by the Trump administration. This has led to job losses and loss of insurance for many, as well as mass deportations.
The legal status of over 200,000 Ukrainians in the US is in limbo due to delays and new immigration system rules. This is reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
A 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.
The Trump administration reportedly suspended processing applications and renewals for the Ukrainian humanitarian program in January, citing security concerns.
After a contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said in March that he was weighing whether to fully revoke the legal status of Ukrainians – a plan first reported by Reuters. Ultimately, Trump did not end the program, and in May a federal judge ordered officials to resume processing renewal applications.
According to US government data released last week as part of a lawsuit, US immigration officials have since processed only 1,900 applications for status renewal from Ukrainians and other citizens, which is only a fraction of those whose status is expiring.
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.
Ukrainians interviewed by Reuters speak of fatigue, fear, and a feeling that their lives are falling apart again. For example, Kateryna Holizdra, who worked as a manager at the Ritz-Carlton, has already lost both her job and her insurance.
People are even afraid to leave their homes so as not to run into a check. Some have already left the country on their own, using a state program with a free ticket and a $1,000 bonus. Ukrainians take such a step to avoid deportation.
Recall
On Tuesday, November 18, 50 citizens who had previously been in the United States were returned through the Shehyni checkpoint on the border between Ukraine and Poland.