WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will urge U.S. citizens, businesses and nonprofit groups to sponsor Ukrainian refugees for temporary humanitarian protection in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.
The new refugee sponsorship program, which starts Monday, will become the main way the government hopes to fulfill its promise to take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who fled their country after the Russian invasion.
According to the United Nations refugee agency, more than five million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries in Eastern Europe since the outbreak of war, triggering an enormous refugee crisis. European leaders have urged the US to take in more refugees, especially those with friends or family ties in the US, but the Biden administration has taken time to create a program that would allow Ukrainians to quickly get permission to get resettled.
The program, dubbed Uniting for Ukraine, requires US citizens and groups to show they have the financial capacity to sponsor Ukrainian refugees, and Ukrainians must already apply to the program with a private sponsor.
If approved, Ukrainians will be allowed into the country for up to two years on temporary humanitarian grounds under a program called Humanitarian Parole. Unlike the traditional refugee program, this new process will not automatically allow refugees to become US permanent residents. That reflects the belief among Biden administration officials that most Ukrainian refugees want to return to their country as soon as possible and are not looking for permanent resettlement.
Once United for Ukraine is up and running, Ukrainians should be able to come to the United States about a week after applying, Department of Homeland Security officials estimated. In addition to an approved sponsor, refugees must have multiple vaccinations, including Covid-19, and undergo a basic security clearance.
The program will function similarly to one created for the Afghans evacuated from Kabul last August. Like the Afghans, the Ukrainian refugees also receive work permits. Unlike Afghans, they are not entitled to welfare benefits unless Congress passes a new law, as it did for Afghan refugees.
The government has not yet spelled out how Ukrainians without close family or friends can be matched with private organizations willing to sponsor them, but officials said they hoped a suitable program would be available soon.
Once the program starts, the US will stop processing Ukrainian refugees who have flown to Mexico to seek refuge at legal border crossings. Since February, border officials have granted parole to at least 5,000 Ukrainians on humanitarian grounds, mostly along a border bridge near San Diego. Thousands more are said to be waiting across the border in Tijuana, where the Mexican government has set up temporary housing at a sports arena.