Trump made a statement on the fate of Ukrainian refugees in the US
US President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian refugees will be allowed to stay in the United States until the war ends.
According to him, the authorities continue to interact with a large number of Ukrainians who are already in the country. The statement was made against the backdrop of a tougher immigration policy pursued by the new administration. About it reports Kyiv Post.
Since the beginning of the year, the White House began to review the humanitarian admission programmes introduced under Joe Biden. Among them is the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) initiative, launched in the spring of 2022. Thanks to this programme, more than 240 thousand Ukrainians were able to temporarily move to the United States. They were granted humanitarian passport status for up to two years, with the possibility of living and working in the country.
However, after Trump's return to power, the programme participants faced growing anxiety. In the spring, reports emerged about the possible cancellation of temporary legal status, which could lead to mass deportations. The situation was exacerbated by an erroneous letter sent out by the Department of Homeland Security, which notified some refugees that their permission to stay would be terminated. The agency later admitted the mailing was erroneous.
In addition, in January, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended the acceptance of new applications under the U4U programme, and the media discussed proposals to use part of the budget funds allocated to help Ukrainians to encourage their voluntary return. It was about payments of up to a thousand dollars to those who agree to leave the US.
Despite all this, Trump emphasised that Ukrainians will be able to stay in the country until the end of the war, although the overall direction of migration policy remains stricter compared to the previous administration.