Trump officials suspend programs to let in immigrants, including Ukrainians

Department of Homeland Security officials have ordered what amounts to a pause in a series of programs allowing immigrants to temporarily settle in the United States, including a key initiative offering a gateway to Ukrainians.

The directive, contained in an email sent Thursday by the top U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official and obtained by The New York Times, demands an immediate end to “final decisions” on applications related to the programs while the administration examines them and decides. whether to put an end to it.

The scope of the programs mentioned in the pause is broad, and the decision will block the entry of immigrants fleeing some of the world’s most unstable and desperate places. Besides Ukraine, which has been battered by years of war, the programs have provided a pathway for immigrants from Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela, among others.

The decision also indicates that the Trump administration plans to carry out a broad crackdown on a wide range of programs that allow people to enter temporarily.

“This suspension of parole decisions is similar to the suspension of all access to asylum seekers at the border and the suspension of the refugee program,” said Yael Schacher, Americas and Europe director for Refugees. International. “This speaks to the administration’s hostility toward all humanitarian immigration.”

Administration officials have said President Trump believes many of these programs were never legal to begin with. He signed an executive order Monday requiring the Department of Homeland Security to end “all categorical parole programs that are contrary to the policies of the United States established in my executive orders,” or programs that allow large numbers of people to enter the country under a temporary status called parole.

The acting head of the Department of Homeland Security on Monday ordered agencies to review parole programs to see which met Mr. Trump’s specifications and, if necessary, suspend them during the review.

A spokesperson for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed the existence of the guidance released this week, but had no further comment.

Trump administration officials have been particularly critical of programs like the one that allowed more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua to enter the country conditionally. they had financial sponsors. On Monday, the Trump administration quickly ended a program that allowed migrants to enter at a port of entry using a government app known as CBP One.

Affected programs also include Uniting for Ukraine, a Biden-era initiative that allowed Ukrainian immigrants to temporarily enter the United States if they had financial sponsors. More than 150,000 Ukrainians had participated in the program as of September 2023, according to government data.

The directive also suspends decisions on applications for a program allowing some families to reunify in the United States and another initiative for Central American minors who have family members in the United States.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports contributed.