Trump says Ukrainian refugees can stay in America until the war ends

"We will. We have a lot of people who came in from Ukraine, and we’re working with them," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump's immigration policy

It's worth noting that since taking office, Trump has toughened his approach to immigration, including programs introduced by the previous administration that granted residence permits in the US.

Since January, the Trump administration has been actively reviewing and, in some cases, moving to end certain humanitarian parole programs that were established during President Biden's tenure.

For example, the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) initiative, launched in April 2022, has served as a key pathway for bringing Ukrainian citizens and their close relatives to the US for up to two years on humanitarian grounds.

More than 240,000 Ukrainians have used this program to seek refuge from the full-scale war launched by Russia.

However, anxiety has remained high among these refugees. Earlier this year, reports emerged that the Trump administration was considering revoking temporary legal status for many Ukrainians, potentially leading to their expedited deportation.

These concerns were heightened by an email mistakenly sent by the Department of Homeland Security in April.

The message incorrectly informed some Ukrainian refugees that their permission to stay had been terminated and that they must leave the country immediately. DHS later confirmed that the email had been sent in error.

Additionally, in January, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a suspension of the U4U program, which had been helping Ukrainians fleeing the war enter America.

There were also reports in the media about plans to divert funds originally intended for refugee assistance to support “voluntary return” programs for immigrants, including Ukrainians. Some proposals even included offering up to $1,000 to those willing to leave the US voluntarily.