Ukrainian refugees with family in America are denied asylum and stuck in Europe or on the southern border, despite President Biden’s promise to welcome them with open arms.
Since war broke out on February 24, European countries have opened their borders to take in the 3 million refugees who have already fled the war zone.
Around 100,000 British households volunteered to take them into their homes. Spain pledged to accept 12,000 refugees. Germany has already taken in 18,000 people, while France expects there to be at least 7,000 soon.
But the US has yet to confirm how many refugees have applied for or been granted asylum. Meanwhile, Ukrainian-American families anxiously wait as their loved ones fly from one European country to another, waiting to be allowed to board a plane to the US and join them.
Among them is the Semenkov family, who lives in Oyster Bay, Long Island. A married couple, Igor and Galina Semenkov, are desperately trying to bring their daughter Xenia and her husband Alexander Isaenko, along with her new husband, to the US.
The couple lived in Kyiv, but fled from the bombing.
Ksenia and her husband Alexander Isaenko are stuck in northern Italy, despite the fact that her entire family lives on Long Island on green cards. Their ESTA visa applications were rejected
The Semenkov family lives in Oyster Bay, Long Island and is keen to have their youngest daughter join them.
At the southern border, Ukrainians and Russians are being interrogated about their plans to enter the country. Some of them are being rejected under Section 42, the COVID rule to block the spread of the virus.
A group of people from Ukraine wait for US authorities to let them through at the port of San Ysidro Crossing in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico on March 12, 2022. The National Security Service did not confirm how many people entered or attempted to enter the port. country so far
Ukrainian citizens walk with defenders on the Mexican side of the border after customs and border officials denied them entry into the United States under Section 42, at the San Ysidro crossing port in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on March 9. , 2022
A Ukrainian family interacts with a US Customs and Border Protection agent as they seek a humanitarian visa at San Ysidro Port of Entry on the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, March 15, 2022.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent points to a Ukrainian family seeking a humanitarian visa at San Ysidro port of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, March 15, 2022.
REFUGEE COUNT BY COUNTRY – HOW MUCH DOES AMERICA ACCEPT?
USA: 514 Ukrainians entered the US from the southern border in January and February
Biden promised to take in refugees, but did not specify how many.
It is unclear how many have actually entered the country so far.
UK: 100,000 Britons offer their homes to Ukrainian families. UK Health and Welfare Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed “no cap” on the amount they will take.
France: 7,000 expected
Spain: 12,000 pledged
Germany: 18,000 accepted so far.
Now they are stuck in northern Italy.
They said their ESTA visa requests were denied because they could not tell the US “when they would return home.”
“We left the house because there was a bomb explosion near our apartment,” Ksenia told NBC news.
Her sister Zhenya added to Newsday: “My sister and her family have to move from one European country to another European country – driving miles, not speaking the language, not knowing what to do – (when) we are here.
“All we ask is that the government give them a visa, any visa.”
Separately, other Ukrainians are being denied at the southern border under a controversial COVID measure called Section 42.
It was introduced by Trump and still exists under the Biden presidency, and it stops the flow of asylum seekers to America, citing COVID as the reason.
This applies to all asylum seekers on the southern border, but is now being noticed due to the Ukrainian crisis.
Among those initially told they could not enter the country was a Ukrainian mother, identified only as Sophia, who was turned away at the border with young children.
She has now been allowed into the country after immigration lawyers spoke out in her defence.
The exact number of people seeking asylum in the US from Ukraine as a result of the war is unknown.
In January and February, the customs and border service let 514 refugees cross the border. Since October, about 1,300 people have appeared at the border.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to inquiries about the number of Ukrainian refugees granted asylum or US visas.
Ukrainian and Russian refugees have been told they cannot enter the US through the southern border due to Section 42, a COVID rule that blocks refugees from entering the country to stop the spread of the virus.
Democrats are calling on Biden to scrap the Section 42 rule to allow more refugees of all ethnicities to enter the US.
Immigration advocates are calling for an end to Section 42 – even though the US is still under a state of emergency – and calls have increased this week as Ukrainians start arriving and asking for asylum, according to CBS8, a San Diego affiliate.
The publication reported that journalists from Tijuana witnessed dozens of Ukrainian and Russian families gathering outside the southern border of the United States, and families in Tijuana claim that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are being selective about who they let in.
Vicente Calderón, editor of Tijuanapress.com, said: “Even people on parole on humanitarian grounds will take a long time to get rejected. Some are allowed in, but not others.”
In February alone, the CBP encountered 164,973 migrants at the southern border, up more than 10,000 from 154,745 in January.
Since Biden took office, the number of crossings per month has increased significantly. In 2020, the last year of Donald Trump’s presidency, a total of 458,088 migrants were encountered at the border. In 2021, that number has increased to 1.73 million with Biden in the White House.
As the administration tries to find ways to contain migration and stop the flow at the southern border, Ukrainian refugees are now seeking asylum in the US.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, leading to a massive refugee crisis in Eastern Europe as millions of people fled the conflict. While many travel to neighboring countries such as Poland, more and more are arriving in the US now that Ukraine is in its 19th day of attack from Vladimir Putin.
Immigration lawyers in San Diego argue that the Section 42 policy is no longer needed and results in inhumane treatment of migrants and asylum seekers at the border as the administration claims it is necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Biden administration has already repealed the parentless transition policy, but as U.S. restrictions ease, there are increasing calls to end the policy entirely.