Relief – known as temporary protection status – applies to people who would face extreme difficulties if forced to return to their homeland devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters, so protection is limited to people who are already in United States. The DHS Secretary has the right to designate a country for the TPS.
“Russia’s preliminary and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has led to an ongoing war, senseless violence and forced Ukrainians to seek refuge in other countries,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the move. “In these extraordinary times, we will continue to offer our support and protection to Ukrainian citizens in the United States.
CNN previously announced the expected announcement.
It is estimated that about 75,100 people are eligible to apply for TPS under the designation Ukraine, according to a DHS spokesman, which is more than twice the previous estimates. Individuals must have been resident in the United States since March 1 to qualify, and the TPS designation will be valid for 18 months.
Institute for Migration Policy, a non-partisan think tank, estimates that about 30,000 Ukrainians with visas can benefit from this protective status. Visas are issued on a temporary basis, and extending the TPS for Ukrainians with visas would protect them from deportation when those visas expire. The Biden administration has come under pressure from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, along with immigrant advocates, to provide protection to Ukrainians in the United States who cannot return to war-torn Ukraine. In a letter to President Joe Biden this week, a bipartisan group of senators called on the administration to extend relief, writing: “Forcing Ukrainian citizens to return to Ukraine in the midst of war would be incompatible with American values and our national security interests.” . Ukraine joins a list of 12 countries, such as South Sudan and Venezuela, which have also been designated TPS.
Earlier on Thursday, the Immigration and Customs Services announced that they had suspended deportation flights to Ukraine, citing the “ongoing humanitarian crisis”.
“Against the backdrop of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, the US Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) has stopped repatriation flights to Ukraine. ICE will continue to monitor the current situation and make operational changes if necessary, “said a spokesman for the agency.
ICE often suspends law enforcement in the event of a conflict or natural disaster.
This story was updated with a statement by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mallorca.