In 2 years since Russia’s invasion, a U.S. program has resettled 187,000 Ukrainians with little controversy

Pennington, New Jersey — Yana, a 10-year-old fourth-grader from Ukraine with a bright smile and big dreams, said she felt welcomed in New Jersey, calling the United States “very, very, very kind”.

“I like the flowers here,” Yana said in English, which she learned remarkably quickly. “People aren’t mean to anyone. They’re nice to everyone.”

When asked if she felt safe in America, Yana replied: “Yeah.”

About two years ago, the lives of Yana and her family were suddenly turned upside down by Russia’s invasion of their homeland. Olena Kopchak, Yana’s mother, remembers the precise moment when their neighborhood in the port city of Mykolaiv was bombed by the Russian army.

“We heard powerful explosions,” Kopchak said in his native language. “At first we didn’t believe it… Our house was literally moving. It started shaking. We thought it was the end.”

The Russian invasion in February 2022 displaced millions of refugees, mostly women and children, triggering the largest refugee exodus in Europe since World War II. As other European countries like Poland and Germany absorbed these refugees, the United States quickly followed suit, with President Biden pledging to take in 100,000 Ukrainians.

In April 2022, the Biden administration created an unprecedented program known as Unite for Ukraine, allowing an unlimited number of American-sponsored Ukrainians to come to the United States and work there legally without having to go through a lengthy visa procedure.

“I didn’t sleep that night when the program launched. I was sitting up at midnight waiting for the website to open,” said Lana Rogers, Kopchak’s sister and a U.S. citizen living in the New Jersey.

Rogers used the Uniting for Ukraine program to sponsor her sister and her family, who arrived in New Jersey in June 2022. While they initially lived with Rogers and used government assistance for basic necessities, Kopchak and her husband since found a job and their own apartment. in central New Jersey.

In two years, US immigration authorities have approved more than 236,000 applications under the Unite for Ukraine program, according to the Department of Homeland Security. By the end of March, more than 187,000 Ukrainians had arrived in the United States under the policy.

Since the Russian invasion began, an additional 350,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the United States outside of the sponsorship process, primarily through temporary visas, according to DHS.

“The Department has delivered on President Biden’s commitment to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked war against Ukraine,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

Unlike most U.S. immigration policies, the resettlement of tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees into American communities has proceeded with resounding efficiency and generated relatively little controversy.

Republican-led states, for example, have filed lawsuits against virtually every major immigration policy of the Biden administration, including a similar sponsorship program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and the Venezuela. But the “United for Ukraine” program has not been challenged in court. In fact, some Republican lawmakers have expressed support for welcoming Ukrainian refugees.

While the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has strained the resources of some communities like New York, Chicago and Denver, the resettlement of Ukrainians has not caused the same negative reactions nor triggered major political problems for the Biden administration. .

Unlike the program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, which is capped at 30,000 approvals per month, Uniting for Ukraine has no numerical limit. Applications for the Uniting for Ukraine program are also considered quite quickly, Sometimes in a matter of weeks or even days – a rarity in a backlogged and understaffed U.S. immigration system.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the refugee resettlement organization Global Refuge, said Uniting for Ukraine “shows how the United States can act with speed when it wants to.”

Vignarajah said geopolitics is partly behind the warm U.S. welcome to the Ukrainian arrivals, seen as victims of Moscow’s anti-U.S. government. “There is certainly a sense of solidarity between the American and Ukrainian people,” she said.

Another reason Ukrainian refugees have enjoyed a smoother transition to the United States than some newcomers, Vignarajah argued, is the unique nature of unity for Ukraine.

Those coming to the United States under the Union for Ukraine need an American sponsor willing to help them financially, and they can work legally immediately after setting foot on American soil. Congress also made the first wave of Ukrainian refugees eligible for resettlement benefits, such as food stamps.

Migrants coming from the southern border cannot legally work until 180 days after applying for asylum. They are also generally not eligible for federal benefits. Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who arrive under the other sponsors’ policy must apply for a work permit before they can legally work.

Vignarajah said race could also play a role in how Ukrainians were received, compared to other immigrant populations. “Just as racism and xenophobia have penetrated many elements of our society, they have also contributed to the unique treatment of Ukrainians,” she said.

Yet Ukrainians face their own obstacles. Their authorization to stay in the United States, issued by an immigration authority known as compassionate parole, expires every two years, and they do not have access to permanent legal status or American citizenship. .

Although the Biden administration has argued that most Ukrainians will eventually return home once the war in their country ends, there is no indication that will happen anytime soon.

“I (can’t) come back,” Kopchak said in English, noting that his hometown of Mykolaiv continues to be bombed by the Russians. “I don’t have a house. I don’t have anything.”

Costanza Maio contributed to this report.