Trump administration suspends immigration programs for Ukrainians
Photo: Trump suspends programs to admit Ukrainians to the United States (Getty Images)
Department of Homeland Security officials ordered the suspension of several programs that allowed immigrants to settle in the United States temporarily. This order includes a key initiative providing entry for Ukrainians, The New York Times reports.
The directive, contained in an email sent on Thursday by a senior official at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and obtained by The New York Times, requires an immediate halt to "final decisions" on applications related to these programs. At the same time, the administration reviews them and decides whether to terminate them.
"The scope of the programs mentioned in the pause is vast, and the decision will block the entrance of immigrants fleeing some of the most unstable and desperate places in the world. In addition to Ukraine, which has been battered by years of war, the programs offered a pathway to immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela, among others," the agency states.
According to journalists, the decision also signals that the Trump administration plans to conduct an "extensive crackdown" on a wide range of programs that allow people to enter the country temporarily.
In turn, administration officials stated that President Trump believes many of these programs were never legal.
Ban on entry for Ukrainians to the US
Among the list of programs set to be suspended is the initiative from former US President Joe Biden's era, "Uniting for Ukraine," which allowed Ukrainian immigrants to enter the United States if they had financial sponsors temporarily. According to government data, as of September 2023, over 150,000 Ukrainians entered the country through this program.
As of yesterday, users in groups for Ukrainians in the US have been massively posting messages that their relatives or acquaintances, whom they were supposed to host in the US under the U4U program, are receiving denials of entry permits. Many Ukrainians traveling to the US were literally caught in transit by the new requirements from the immigration agency.
The directive also halts decisions on applications for a program that allowed certain families to reunite in the United States, as well as another initiative for minors from Central America who have family members in the US.
Trump's policy on immigration programs
On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an order requiring the Department of Homeland Security to end "all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States established in my executive orders," or programs that allow large numbers of people to enter the country under temporary status.
On the same day, the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security ordered agencies to review all programs to determine which comply with Trump's specifications and, if necessary, to suspend them during the review.
A spokesperson for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed to The New York Times the existence of the directives issued this week but did not provide any comments.
Trump administration officials have particularly criticized programs similar to the one that allowed more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua to enter the country if they had financial sponsors. On Monday, the Trump administration quickly shut down one program that allowed migrants to enter using a government program known as CBP One.
Previously, Trump ordered the preparation of a plan for military support for the border mission with Mexico. The directive followed the declaration of a state of emergency at the border with Mexico.
