President Donald Trump is planning to revoke temporary legal status for more than 240,000 Ukrainian civilians who fled their war-torn country and were allowed into the United States under temporary humanitarian parole programs, a senior Trump official and three other sources told Reuters.
After the news broke, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, while insisting the report was "fake news," confirmed that revoking Ukrainians' legal status is under consideration, saying only that "no decision has been made at this time."
The move would be a first step in a process that could subject immigrants to fast-track deportation proceedings, according to an internal ICE email obtained by Reuters. It's part of a broader effort by the Department of Homeland Security to "terminate all categorical parole programs" per an executive order, under which 1.8 million refugees were able to find relatively safe haven in the U,S. In addition to the Ukrainians, 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans also in line to have their status revoked this month.
The mass revocation had been planned by the Trump administration before the president's feud with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky last week, sources said. It comes as the U.S. has also halted intelligence and weapons sharing with its former ally.
The Trump administration's approach towards Ukrainian refugees is remarkably different from how officials, including South African-born Elon Musk, have talked about white South Africans who they claim are being persecuted by their government or wealthy foreigners willing to pay $5 million for a "gold card."
Meanwhile, Afghan refugees, including former military, intelligence and government personnel whose lives would be endangered due to the assistance they provided to U.S. forces, are already being subjected to an ICE crackdown.
"When someone stands shoulder to shoulder with American troops and puts his life in danger..." one former Afghan intelligence officer told Reuters in a phone call from an ICE detention center, his voice shaking. "I wasn't expecting this behavior from them. I wasn't."
Deported Ukrainians too face danger and potentially harrowing conditions, as Russian forces continue to launch offensives by land and air, often intentionally targeting civilians. Trump has said that he wants to see both sides reach a peace deal, but it's not clear how long it will take and what he will demand Ukraine gives up to its invader.
Shares