Various news outlets are suggesting that President Trump is on the verge of removing the legal status of almost 250 thousand Ukrainians currently living illegally in this country. The individuals are NOT considered bona fide “refugees,” a specific designation applied by UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).They (like the “CHNV” parolees discussed here yesterday) are classed as “humanitarian parolees,” a status Biden plucked from obscurity to give a patina of legality to a program of mass immigration clearly contrary to US law. Under that program, the Biden administration allowed in — after dubious vetting — at least 1.8 million migrants.
The anticipated move was in the works before the President’s dust-up with Ukrainian President Zelensky last week at the White House. Trump’s intent all along has been to close the program down. He already paused immigration applications filed by migrants from Ukraine when he issued an executive order on January 20 that called for DHS to “terminate all categorical parole programs.”
Although removal of parole protection could subject the Ukranians to fast-track deportation, what follows for them is uncertain.
For more, see Reuters.