Almost 200,000 Ukrainians may be deported from the US: what is the reason?
Фото: Reuters
More than 200,000 Ukrainians in the United States are at risk of losing their legal status due to delays in processing documents and new rules introduced by the Donald Trump administration. This has already led to job layoffs, loss of health insurance and an increase in deportations.
This is reported by Reuters .
The humanitarian program, which began in April 2022, has allowed nearly 260,000 Ukrainians to enter the United States for an initial two-year period. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, this is just a fraction of the 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees worldwide, of whom 5.3 million are in Europe.
Journalists note that the Donald Trump administration suspended processing of applications and renewals of the Ukrainian humanitarian program in January , citing security concerns. After that, during a meeting in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump said that he was considering the possibility of completely revoking the legal status of Ukrainians.
The administration did not end the program, and in May a federal judge ordered officials to resume processing renewal applications. However, according to U.S. government data released in a lawsuit, immigration officials have processed only 1,900 renewal applications from Ukrainians and other citizens. That is a tiny fraction of the total number of people whose permits are expiring.
Separately, journalists note that the spending package signed by Donald Trump in July added a new fee of $1,000 to each humanitarian application. This fee is in addition to the current fee of $1,325 per person.
Ukrainians interviewed by journalists talk about fatigue, fear, and uncertainty about the future. In particular, Kateryna Golizdra, who worked as a manager at the Ritz-Carlton, reported losing her job and health insurance.
“People are afraid to even leave their homes for fear of being checked,” said one of the program participants.
Some have already left the United States voluntarily, taking advantage of a government program with a free ticket and a bonus of $1,000. Ukrainians make such decisions to avoid deportation.
The situation remains unresolved, and thousands of people are awaiting a decision from migration services on the extension of their status.
By the way, on Tuesday, November 18, 50 citizens who were deported from the United States of America returned to Ukraine.
It was previously reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing to deport Ukrainians who have final removal orders.
As a reminder, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Vereshchuk stated that Ukraine should prepare a social support system for refugees who plan to return from abroad.
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