President Joe Biden will speak on Thursday, April 21, 2022, at the Roosevelt Room in the White House in Washington, about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Evan Vucci | AP
Washington — President Joe Biden Thursday announced a new program to facilitate the US asylum process for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.
The “Unite for Ukraine” program allows individual Americans and nonprofits to sponsor Ukrainian refugees, provided they can financially support them.
“This program will be swift and streamlined, ensuring that the United States respects its commitment to the Ukrainian people and that they do not have to cross our southern border,” Biden said on Thursday at the White House. Said in.
Biden has announced a new refugee sponsorship program as part of a wider slate of aid measures for Ukrainians as they fend off a brutal Russian attack. He also announced $ 1.3 billion in new military hardware and direct government assistance.
According to the Department of Homeland Security fact sheet, the “Unity for Ukraine” program is centered around a web portal sponsored by US-based individuals and groups who can apply to upload documents. The portal will be published on Monday.
Ukrainians must live in their home country as of February 11 to be eligible for expedited proceedings. You will also need to be vaccinated, biometric screened and background checked before admission.
In March, Biden promised that the United States would accept as many as 100,000 refugees from Ukraine. But until now, there was no specific information about how the process works.
Due to the lack of an official route for entry, thousands of Ukrainians traveled to Mexico and arrived at US border locations, where they were admitted under special refugee status.
Ukrainians seeking asylum walk toward the United States on April 8, 2022, on the Mexican side of the El Chaparal Crossing Port in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
Guiller Moalias | AFP | Getty Images
Since late March, Ukrainians have been exempt from title 42, a pandemic-era immigration rule that requires the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to expel asylum seekers to the country rather than wait for hearings. increase.
CBP reports it was detained Over 5,000 Immigrants from Ukraine in March. More than four times the 1,150 Ukrainians detained last month. The majority of detained people were later admitted to the country.
According to the DHS fact sheet, the “Uniting for Ukraine” portal is scheduled to be launched on Monday, so Ukrainians at border locations will be denied and instructed to visit the website.
A sudden policy shift from accepting Ukrainians away from them could stall hundreds of refugees already on or near the US-Mexico border.
The United Nations estimates that more than 5 million people have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the war, the majority of whom are women and children.
