March 14 (UPI) — Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who entered the United States through Mexico last year to escape the Russian invasion may get to remain in the country for at least another year.
The decision, announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, affects about 25,000 Ukrainians who crossed the southern U.S. border between Feb. 24 and April 25, 2022, and who at the time received temporary asylum for one year.
Homeland Security officials, however, noted the latest extensions for stay were not automatic and would be determined on a “case-by-case basis.”
“As Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the unprecedented humanitarian crisis it has caused continue, DHS assesses that there remain urgent humanitarian reasons, as well as a significant public benefit, for extending the parole of certain Ukrainians and family members on a case-by-case basis,” homeland security spokesman Angelo Fernandez said in a statement announcing the plan.
Those who arrived in the U.S. at the southern border during the early months of the war — whose yearlong visits were set to expire this spring — will be first in line to extend their stay.
If approved, applicants will be instructed to log on to a government website and download their updated paperwork.
“This process will provide critical relief to thousands of Ukrainians who have been facing tremendous anxiety and uncertainty about their future here,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
The war marked its first anniversary in late February, and with no signs of a ceasefire, the government will extend some of those visits by a second year.
Previously, in response to the war, the Biden administration established a humanitarian parole program which granted two-year asylum to Ukrainians fleeing the conflict.
About 300,000 Ukrainians have fled to the United States since the invasion began, compared to more than 8 million who sought refuge across Europe in the past year.
During the first weeks of the war, more than 20,000 Ukrainians entered the United States as the administration shielded them from Title 42 — the controversial pandemic-era policy that allowed illegal migrants to be quickly deported.
Some human rights advocates accused the administration of applying immigration protections unequally as thousands of Afghans in the U.S. face repatriation this summer, but with no recourse. These refugees similarly received temporary humanitarian parole in 2021, but their plight has failed to sway Congress on legislation that would have provided permanent residency.
“The administration’s broader use of parole must be accompanied by a thoughtful plan for how and when temporary protections will be extended, and how beneficiaries can access pathways to longer-term status,” Vignarajah said.
