The Biden administration is expanding Temporary Protection Status (TPS) eligibility for Ukrainians living in the U.S. by raising the program’s cut-off date by six weeks, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday.
In early March, DHS Secretary Alexander Mayorkas announced a TPS program to protect Ukrainians in the U.S. from deportation, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the time, Mayorkas said that only Ukrainians living in the United States from March 1 could apply for TPS, which also offers work permits.
On Monday, however, Mayorkas said in a warning that Ukrainians residing in the United States from April 11 would be eligible for TPS if they meet other eligibility rules and pass background checks. The government estimates that 59,600 Ukrainians could apply for TPS after the program opens on Tuesday.
The change in the deadline could mean that thousands of additional Ukrainians who managed to reach the United States after the Russian invasion, including those allowed to enter the United States across the Mexican border on humanitarian grounds, are eligible for and TPS.
PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images
A 1990 law allows DHS to offer TPS to immigrants from countries suffering from armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other “extraordinary” emergencies that would prevent their safe return.
In his warning on Monday, Mayorkas said the war in Ukraine “poses a grave danger” to Ukrainians returning, citing Russia’s sustained bombing of Ukrainian cities, alleged human rights abuses by forces. the mass displacement of civilians and the impact of the conflict on critical services.
“Extraordinary and temporary conditions, including destroyed infrastructure, scarce resources and lack of access to health care, are preventing Ukrainian nationals from returning to their homeland safely,” Mayorkas said.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suspended deportations to Ukraine and other countries in the region in early March.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February caused the largest refugee crisis since World War II, forcing nearly 5 million people to flee the country in less than three months, according to the United Nations.
President Biden pledged last month to host up to 100,000 war-displaced Ukrainians, but the United States has not yet announced any program or policy changes to achieve the ambitious goal.
Because they need visas to come directly to the U.S., thousands of Ukrainians have made a one-day trek from Europe to Mexico to reach the southern U.S. border, where officials have been instructed to consider exempting Ukrainians from pandemic-era entry restrictions and admit them. for humanitarian reasons.
Between February 1 and April 6, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials prosecuted about 10,000 Ukrainians who did not have prior permission to enter the country, an unprecedented number, he said. . DHS internal data obtained by CBS News.
During that same time period, 41,000 Ukrainians entering the U.S. on visas were prosecuted by CBP officials, according to DHS figures.
In March, only a dozen Ukrainians entered the U.S. through the traditional refugee process, which typically takes years to complete due to UN referrals, interviews, medical checks, and security checks, the State Department figures.
Unlike the Trump administration, which sought to reduce humanitarian immigration programs, the Biden administration has made extensive use of the TPS authority to provide protection against the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from war-torn countries. ethnic conflicts, political unrest and natural disasters.
Biden administration appointments have made approximately 600,000 immigrants in the United States eligible for TPS, including citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Myanmar and Venezuela, government estimates show.
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