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Border Patrol agents have reportedly been ordered to consider releasing Ukrainians clashed at the southern border from Section 42 restrictions, which are being used to quickly expel migrants, the latest immigration measure put in place for Ukrainians amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
In a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) memo published by CBS News, officials say Russia’s “unjustified war of aggression in Ukraine has led to a humanitarian crisis.”
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PROVIDES DEPORTATION PROTECTION TO UKRAINIANS LIVING IN US
This picture, taken on the Ukrainian-Polish border, shows how people carry everything they can from home. (Francesco Malavolta)
“The TGB is authorized, in accordance with the Section 42 Order, in each specific case, based on a combination of circumstances, including considerations of humanitarian interests, to exclude citizens of Ukraine in land border ports of entry from Section 42,” the report says. reportedly said in the memorandum.
Section 42, protecting public health, was enacted by the Trump administration in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. An order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allows for the rapid removal of migrants, often within minutes and without detention, at the border.
The Biden administration has largely continued to use this order, with some additional exceptions, including for unaccompanied children. While officials in both administrations have said it was a public health order and not an immigration order, it has been used by both administrations as an important tool to stop migration, to the chagrin of leading Democrats and immigration advocates, who have urged the Biden administration to abolish it entirely.
The guidance issued to agents allows exceptions for Ukrainians who hold a valid Ukrainian ID and are not considered a threat to national security or public safety. There were 272 clashes with Ukrainians at the border in February, compared with 19 in February 2021, according to CBP. There have been 1,301 collisions since October.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Majorcas gestures as he answers a question during a Senate homeland security and government hearing on security threats 20 years after the 9/11 attacks in Washington, DC, September 21, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool) via REUTERS)
This is the administration’s latest immigration move related to the Ukraine crisis. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suspended deportation flights to Ukraine earlier this month.
DHS did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the released memo.
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A few days later, the Department of Homeland Security announced that Ukraine would be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. TPS protects U.S. citizens of certain countries from deportation if they qualify and allows them to apply for work permits and travel freely.
DHS said the appointment was based “both on the ongoing armed conflict and on the emergency and temporary conditions in Ukraine that prevent Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons who have recently habitually resided in Ukraine from safely returning to Ukraine.”