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The Biden administration announced plans on Thursday to speed up the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, creating a new system that would allow ordinary citizens and organizations such as churches to sponsor them, and warned that Ukrainians trying to cross Mexico would be denied access from next week.
The announcement comes after more than 5 million people, more than 10 percent of Ukraine’s population, fled to Poland, Romania and other neighboring countries, reinforcing calls for the Biden administration to accept more in the United States. The administration is also seeking to control the rapidly growing number of refugees from Ukraine and Latin America who appear undeclared at the Mexican border seeking entry into the United States.
President Biden promised to admit up to 100,000 Ukrainians a month ago, but so far the administration has not offered clear guidelines for the process. Left alone, approximately 15,000 Ukrainians have arrived mostly on the U.S.-Mexico border in the past three months, senior officials said during a conference call with reporters on Thursday, provided they were anonymous to discuss the new program. .
The State Department and the Ministry of Internal Security have said they are creating a new “simplified” program called “Unification for Ukraine”, which will provide most refugees with “humanitarian parole”. to come to the United States for up to two years, as long as they have a sponsor willing to support them in the country. Officials also plan to expand permanent legal avenues under the existing refugee program.
“The United States strongly encourages Ukrainians seeking asylum in the United States who do not have and do not qualify for a visa to seek entry through Uniting for Ukraine from Europe, this will be the safest and most effective way to seek temporary asylum in the United States. “A document released by the Interior Ministry on Thursday warned that anyone arriving without a valid visa at national ports or borders” will be denied entry. “
“We are proud to fulfill President Biden’s commitment to welcoming 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression in the United States,” Interior Minister Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “DHS will continue to provide relief to the Ukrainian people, while supporting our European allies, who have taken on so much as a result of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
The number of borders jumped in March, with Ukrainians increasing significantly
Homeland Security officials and the State Department said the main way they expect to receive refugees is through “humanitarian parole,” which will allow them to live and work in the United States for up to two years.
Ukrainians cannot apply for the program. Instead, as of Monday, “US-based individuals and businesses” such as churches can apply online to DHS to sponsor Ukrainian citizens.
The Ukrainians must have been residents of Ukraine by February 11, just before the February 24 invasion. They must also have a sponsor in the United States, including “any U.S. citizen or individual, including non-governmental organizations.” Sponsors will have to pass background checks to prevent exploitation and declare that they will financially support refugees.
Refugees also need to undergo the necessary vaccinations and clear checks to come to the United States, and officials said they are working with countries in Europe to ensure that Ukrainians have access to vaccines.
Once approved, Ukrainians will be allowed to travel to the United States, will be considered on parole on a case-by-case basis and will be allowed to apply for a work permit, officials said.
Officials said organizations such as Welcome.US, an effort led by former Presidents Barack Obama (D) and George W. Bush (R) to help refugees, are expected to help in the effort, along with a number of Ukrainian American civil and church groups and ordinary citizens.
Most refugees are expected to have families in the United States, officials said. More than 1 million people of Ukrainian descent live in the United States, mostly U.S.-born citizens, as well as 355,000 immigrants. Many of them live in New York, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Washington and Illinois, according to the Census Bureau. Some arrived before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and others after Ukraine voted for independence that year.
There are new migrants on the US-Mexico border: Ukrainian refugees
While officials expect most Ukrainians to enter the United States through humanitarian parole, they said they are also stepping up efforts to create permanent roads, including for “vulnerable groups” such as women and girls, children and the elderly with special needs. .
For example, the State Department will expand access to the traditional operations of the US Refugee Program in Europe “as much as possible” to offer Ukrainians more visa processing meetings and give priority access to people with “humanitarian, medical or other unexpected circumstances. ”
They are also expanding the resettlement process of refugees under the Lautenberg program, a route for historically persecuted religious groups from Ukraine and other former Soviet republics to reunite with relatives in the United States. Approximately 18,000 people have participated in the program in Ukraine, and officials said Thursday that they are working to identify the fugitives so they can come to the United States.
The new plans come as the war in Ukraine approaches the two-month border and the United States struggles with a growing number of Latin American migrants on the US-Mexico border. Mallorca and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken attended the Panama Migration Summit this week to deal with the border influx, which is expected to increase further after May 23, when a public health order known as the 42, which allows border guards to expel migrants to expire.
But lawmakers and advocacy groups are also pressuring the Biden administration to expand access to Ukrainian refugees amid horrific reports of destruction and death in their country. The United States has said it has contributed nearly $ 300 million in humanitarian aid as food and shelter to displaced Ukrainians and is ready to offer more than $ 1 billion.
The Biden administration has already provided temporary protection against the deportation of some 59,600 Ukrainian non-citizens already living in the United States, but they must have lived here by April 11.
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