The Trump administration is planning to roll back temporary legal protections for some 240,000 Ukrainian refugees, leaving them vulnerable to fast-track deportation, Reuters reported.
The move to revoke the temporary resident status of the Ukrainians who fled to the US following Russia’s full-scale invasion could be expected as soon as April, the outlet reported.
It comes amid a broader Trump administration crackdown which could see more than 1.8 million migrants allowed to enter the US on temporary humanitarian parole programs during the Biden administration lose their legal protections.
The US Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm the report to the news agency.
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The move to revoke legal status for hundreds of thousands of refugees would mark a “stunning reversal” of Biden’s open-armed approach to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, Reuters reported, coming on the heels of Washington’s moves this week to halt all military aid for Ukraine and pause intelligence sharing.
Plans to remove the temporary legal status for Ukrainians were reportedly underway before Friday’s Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Reuters reported.
Trump vowed to end temporary parole programs in an executive order on his first day in office, putting over 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who entered the US legally at risk of deportation, as well as more than 70,000 Afghans who fled the Taliban.
WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia, a senior Trump official and three sources familiar with the matter said, potentially putting them on a fast-track to deportation.
The move, expected as soon as April, would be a stunning reversal of the welcome Ukrainians received under President Joe Biden's administration.
The planned rollback of protections for Ukrainians was underway before Trump publicly feuded with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week. It is part of a broader Trump administration effort to strip legal status from more than 1.8 million migrants allowed to enter the U.S. under temporary humanitarian parole programs launched under the Biden administration, the sources said.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the department had no announcements at this time. The White House and Ukrainian embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
A Trump executive order issued on January 20 called for DHS to "terminate all categorical parole programs."
The administration plans to revoke parole for about 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans as soon as this month, the Trump official and one of the sources familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The plan to revoke parole for those nationalities was first reported, opens new tab by CBS News.
Migrants stripped of their parole status could face fast-track deportation proceedings, according to an internal ICE email seen by Reuters.
Immigrants who cross the border illegally can be put into the fast-track deportation process known as expedited removal, for two years after they enter. But for those who entered through legal ports of entry without being officially "admitted" to the U.S. - as with those on parole - there is no time limit on their rapid removal, the email said.
The Biden programs were part of a broader effort to create temporary legal pathways to deter illegal immigration and provide humanitarian relief.
In addition to the 240,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, and the 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, these programs covered more than 70,000 Afghans escaping the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
An additional 1 million migrants scheduled a time to cross at a legal border crossing via an app known as CBP One.
Thousands more had access to smaller programs, including family reunification parole for certain people in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Trump as a candidate pledged to end the Biden programs, saying they went beyond the bounds of U.S. law.
The Trump administration last month paused processing immigration-related applications for people who entered the U.S. under certain Biden parole programs - placing Ukrainian Liana Avetisian, her husband and her 14-year-old daughter, in limbo. Avetisian, who worked in real estate in Ukraine, now assembles windows while her husband works construction.
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