Anna Hartz
Immigration rules often change faster than people can react.
Families build new routines, find work, settle their children in school, and then discover that their legal status may be slipping away. It creates fear that grows quietly, day by day. That is what many Ukrainians in the United States are dealing with now, as they wait for answers that never seem to arrive.
Increasing Deportations
More than 200,000 Ukrainians in the United States could lose their legal status because of long delays in document processing and new rules introduced by the Donald Trump administration, reports Digi24.
Reuters reports that the consequences are already visible. Some people have lost their jobs. Others have lost health insurance. Deportations have increased. PRM also reported on these developments.
The humanitarian program that allowed Ukrainians to come to the United States began in April 2022. Nearly 260,000 people entered the country through this program for an initial stay of two years. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, they represent only a small part of the 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees around the world. Most of them are in Europe.
Journalists note that the Trump administration suspended processing of applications and renewals in January. Officials said they had concerns about security. Later, during an Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said he was considering ending the legal status of Ukrainians altogether.
Slow Renewal Progress
The administration has not shut the program down. In May, a federal judge ordered the government to restart the renewal process. Even so, progress has been slow. U.S. government data released in a lawsuit shows that only 1,900 renewal applications have been processed so far. This includes Ukrainians and applicants from other countries. The number is tiny compared to the huge group of people whose permits will soon expire.
Another obstacle appeared in July. A new spending package signed by Trump added a $1,000 fee for each humanitarian application. This fee is added on top of the current cost of $1,325 per person.
Ukrainians interviewed by reporters describe fear and exhaustion. Some avoid going outside because they worry about being checked. A few have already left the United States voluntarily. They used a government program that offers a free flight and a $1,000 payment.
The situation remains unresolved. Thousands of people are still waiting for the migration services to decide whether they can stay.
Sources: Reuters. Digi24
