WASHINGTON – The Biden administration will ask American citizens, companies and non-profit organizations to sponsor Ukrainian refugees for temporary humanitarian protection in the United States, the Ministry of Internal Security announced on Thursday.
The new refugee sponsorship program, which will start on Monday, will become the main path the administration hopes to use to fulfill its promise to accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who have left their country since Russia’s invasion.
Since the war broke out, more than five million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring Eastern European countries, causing a huge refugee situation, according to the UN refugee agency. European leaders are urging the United States to accept more refugees, especially those with friends or family ties in the United States, but it has taken the Biden administration time to set up a program that will allow Ukrainians to get permission to relocate quickly.
Under the program called “Unification for Ukraine”, American citizens and groups will have to prove their financial ability to sponsor Ukrainian refugees, and Ukrainians will have to apply for the program, which is already paired with a private sponsor.
If approved, Ukrainians will be admitted to the country on temporary humanitarian grounds under a program known as the Humanitarian Parole for up to two years. Unlike the traditional refugee program, this new process will not automatically allow refugees to become permanent residents of the United States. This reflects the conviction of Biden administration officials that most Ukrainian refugees want to return to their country as soon as possible and are not seeking permanent resettlement.
Once the United for Ukraine begins work, Ukrainians should be able to come to the United States about a week after applying, according to Interior Ministry officials. In addition to having an approved sponsor, refugees must have several vaccinations, including for Covid-19, and pass a basic security check.
The program will operate similarly to the one created for Afghans evacuated from Kabul last August. Like Afghans, Ukrainian refugees will receive work permits. Unlike Afghans, they will not be entitled to public assistance unless Congress passes a new law, as was the case for Afghan refugees.
The administration has not yet indicated how Ukrainians without close relatives or friends can be linked to private organizations that want to sponsor them, but officials said they hope a matching program will be available soon.
Once the program starts, the United States will stop processing Ukrainian refugees who have flown to Mexico to seek refuge at legal border crossings. Since February, border authorities have granted humanitarian parole to at least 5,000 Ukrainians, mostly along a border bridge near San Diego. Thousands of others are believed to be waiting across the border in Tijuana, where the Mexican government has set up a temporary shelter in a sports arena.
Add Comment