It seems like hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who came to the U.S. when Putin invaded Ukraine could face deportation as soon as April.
President Trump is reportedly planning to revoke temporary legal status for about 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia.
According to a senior Trump official and three sources familiar with the matter, this move could quickly put them on a fast track to deportation.
Trump plans to revoke legal status for 240,000 Ukrainians
President Trump’s administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia.
This decision, coming from a senior official and three other sources familiar with the issue, could lead to these individuals facing fast-track deportation.
The move could happen as soon as April
Looks like this could go down as soon as April, which is pretty shocking, especially since Ukrainians had been given a warm welcome under President Biden. This would be a major about-face from that.
Rollback began before Trump’s feud with Zelenskyy
Weirdly enough, this whole thing started before Trump had his public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
So, it seems like their beef didn’t trigger the move, but it was already on the way.
Part of a broader effort to strip legal status
It’s all part of Trump’s bigger plan to take away the legal status of over 1.8 million migrants who were allowed in under Biden’s temporary humanitarian parole programs.
That’s a whole lot of people, including Ukrainians, plus folks from other countries.
DHS spokesperson has no announcements at this time
When asked about it, Tricia McLaughlin from the Department of Homeland Security didn’t have much to say. “We have no announcements at this time,” she said.
White House and Ukrainian embassy did not comment
The White House and the Ukrainian embassy didn’t get back to any of Reuters’ questions about this, either. They’re staying quiet about the whole thing for now, which is kind of odd.
“The White House and Ukrainian embassy did not respond to requests for comment,” Reuters said.
Trump signed an executive order to end categorical parole programs
Back in January, Trump signed an executive order that basically called for the termination of “all categorical parole programs.” That’s what’s making these changes possible right now.
Parole revocation includes 530,000 migrants from other countries
One source mentioned, “The administration plans to revoke parole for about 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans as soon as this month.”
So, this whole thing is part of a much bigger plan to scale back protections for migrants.
Migrants without parole status could face fast-track deportation
For those who lose their parole status, it’s looking like they’ll get pushed into fast-track deportation. There’s even an internal ICE email that shows this could happen, which is pretty worrying for those affected.
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According to the email, migrants stripped of their parole status “could face fast-track deportation proceedings.”
Migrants who entered legally without “admission” face rapid removal
If immigrants came in legally but didn’t officially get “admitted” — which includes those on parole — they could get removed quickly. There’s no time limit on that.
This is different from people who crossed illegally, who can be put in the fast-deportation process only for two years after entering.
According to an internal ICE email, “there is no time limit on their rapid removal.” So, it’s looking like those who were on parole could face even quicker removal.
This move could shake up thousands of lives, and with the clock ticking, we’ll be keeping an eye on what happens next.
