The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is set to revoke temporary legal status for approximately 240,000 Ukrainians who have fled the ongoing conflict with Russia, a shift that may accelerate their deportation.
This action, anticipated as early as April, represents a significant reversal from the supportive measures extended to Ukrainians under President Joe Biden’s administration.
Sources indicate that plans to roll back these protections were in motion prior to Trump’s public dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week. This initiative is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to strip legal status from over 1.8 million migrants who were granted temporary humanitarian parole under the Biden administration.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stated that the department has no announcements to make at this time. The White House and the Ukrainian embassy have not responded to inquiries regarding the situation.
An executive order issued by Trump on January 20 directed the DHS to “terminate all categorical parole programs.”
The administration also plans to revoke parole for around 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans within the same timeframe, as indicated by an anonymous source familiar with the discussions, which was first reported by CBS News.
Migrants who lose their parole status may be subject to expedited deportation processes, according to an internal email from ICE reviewed by Reuters. Individuals who cross the border illegally can be placed in expedited removal proceedings for two years after their entry.
However, those who entered through legal ports of entry but were not officially “admitted” to the U.S. — as is the case with parolees — do not have a time limit for rapid removal, the email noted.
The Biden programs aimed to establish temporary legal pathways to deter illegal immigration while offering humanitarian assistance. In addition to the 240,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and the 530,000 individuals from various Latin American countries, these programs have also benefited over 70,000 Afghans escaping the Taliban’s takeover.
Moreover, about 1 million migrants are scheduled to cross at legal border points using the CBP One app, with thousands more participating in smaller initiatives, such as family reunification parole for individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean.
As a candidate, Trump pledged to dismantle the Biden programs, asserting that they exceeded the legal limits of U.S. immigration law. Last month, the Trump administration temporarily halted processing immigration applications for individuals who entered the U.S. under specific Biden parole programs.
