Almost 200,000 Ukrainians in US thrown into authorized limbo by Trump immigration crackdown

The humanitarian program, launched in April 2022, allowed practically 260,000 Ukrainians into the U.S. for an preliminary two-year interval. That’s a small share of the 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees worldwide, 5.3 million of whom are in Europe, in line with United Nations refugee figures.

Golizdra stated she has no concept when – or if – her permission to remain within the United States could be renewed, threatening her short-lived sense of safety in America.

While she waits for an replace on her utility, she may doubtlessly be arrested by federal immigration authorities, three former immigration officers stated.

‘CONSTANT STRESS’

The final six months have felt like she is on a “hamster wheel,” Golizdra said.

“It’s a constant stress, anxiety,” she said. “If I will need to leave the States, then I will have to build something again.”

Reuters spoke with two dozen Ukrainians who lost their work permits – and their jobs – due to delays in processing renewals, including tech workers, a preschool teacher, a financial planner, an interior designer and a college student. They described digging into their savings, seeking out community support and taking on debt to support themselves while they wait for a decision on their status.

Some of the people interviewed by Reuters said they were worried they could be arrested by U.S. immigration authorities. Others said they were staying indoors, or had left the U.S. for Canada, Europe and South America.

TRUMP’S SHIFTING UKRAINE POLICY

But U.S. immigration officials have processed only 1,900 renewal applications for Ukrainians and other nationalities since then, a fraction of those with expiring status, according to U.S. government data released last week as part of a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, a spending package Trump signed into law in July added a $1,000 fee to such humanitarian applications – on top of a fee of $1,325 per individual.

The White House referred questions about the Ukrainian humanitarian program to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which did not respond to requests for comment.

U.S. Representative Mike Quigley, a Democrat in the Chicago area, said his office has received requests for assistance from more than 200 Ukrainians in limbo.

“There’s a fear that if they haven’t completed their application, if they haven’t gone through the whole process, they’re vulnerable for deportation,” Quigley said.

Anne Smith, the executive director and regulatory counsel of the Ukraine Immigration Task Force, a legal coalition formed to aid those who fled the war to the U.S., said her attorney network was receiving multiple calls per week from Ukrainians saying they have family members detained by immigration authorities. She said Ukrainians have been arrested at construction sites, while doing food delivery or working as Uber or truck drivers, as well as in broader sweeps in Chicago and greater Cleveland.

Brian Snyder, a product marketing manager in Raleigh, North Carolina , who has sponsored three Ukrainian families , said people who followed the rules are being treated unfairly.

One Ukrainian woman recently asked if he would serve as her emergency contact if she was picked up by immigration officers, he said. He knew of another family where a teenage son’s parole was renewed while the parents and two younger children were left waiting, he said.

“All of this dysfunction and uncertainty is just introducing a tremendous amount of stress in these families’ lives,” he said.

SOME UKRAINIANS ‘SELF DEPORT’

Yevhenii Padafa, a 31-year-old software engineer who moved to Brooklyn in September 2023, applied to renew his status in March. His application sat pending until it expired in September.

Padafa decided to go to Argentina, which has a lower cost of living than other countries and offers a humanitarian program for Ukrainians. But the app would not book him a ticket there. A U.S. border official told him the flight would need to be booked to Ukraine, he said.

He was counting on the free flight and $1,000 bonus. Arriving in Buenos Aires in mid-November with little money, he planned to sell a laptop to cover initial rent for an apartment.

“If I return to Ukraine, I’ll just go to the frontline,” he stated. “I’d somewhat be homeless someplace than go to Ukraine.”

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