Last Friday, Sen. Robert Menendez urged the Biden administration to enact deportation relief for Ukrainians already in the United States, writing Russia’s invasion “is exactly the type of crisis” meriting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation. Now, more than 40 senators and nearly 100 members of the House have added their voices to this urgent call for action.
“As you know, TPS can be granted to nationals of another country who are currently residing in the United States if returning to their country would pose a serious threat to their personal safety because of ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects of an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions,” 42 senators wrote in a Feb. 28 letter.
Just two Republicans, Ohio’s Rob Portman and North Dakota’s Kevin Cramer, joined Democratic members in urging the Biden administration to act on temporary status. (It must be noted that in early 2020, both Portman and Cramer voted to acquit the insurrectionist president after he was impeached by the House on charges of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress after attempting to extort the Ukrainian government.)
“TPS allows eligible nationals of designated countries to remain in the United States legally until the expiration of the TPS designation,” senators continued. “Ukraine clearly meets the standard for TPS as it is obviously too dangerous for Ukrainian nationals to return to Ukraine due to the ongoing armed conflict.”
The letter cites hundreds of civilian casualties at the hands of Russian invaders. The letter from nearly 100 House members estimates that a full invasion could result in as many as 50,000 civilian deaths.
“The human costs of armed conflict are clear and will contribute to current humanitarian crises in the country,” the House members wrote. “Almost 1.5 million internally displaced people live in Ukraine, mostly from the disputed Donbas region and the Crimean peninsula. Last year, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that 3.4 million people living in Ukraine need humanitarian assistance.”
Both the House and Senate letters say that roughly 30,000 Ukrainians already in the U.S. could be protected under a TPS designation. Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse researcher Austin Kocher has previously said roughly 3,000 Ukrainians who are in removal proceedings have pending asylum applications.
The House letter also specifically requests relief for international students, mirroring a recent call made by advocates. Special Student Relief “may be granted to students from a designated country under an emergent circumstances designation,” nearly 200 organizations said Friday.
“Given the already unmet humanitarian need in the country and the effects of the armed conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian government is in no state to receive TPS and SSR eligible Ukrainians,” House members continued in their letter. “Returning these Ukrainians to an at-war country would further destabilize the country by inundating them with a large number of deportees.”
The Biden administration is also facing calls from two former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials under George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
“Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion of the Ukraine has created untold turmoil, death and destruction for the Ukrainian people,” Emilio T. González and Leon Rodriguez write. “The currently unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is a class example of the type that led Congress to legislate TPS.” The program was signed into law under George H.W. Bush. “Clearly, they meet the criteria for TPS,” González and Rodriguez continued. “Granting TPS will go a long way to ease the concerns of Ukrainian nationals currently in the United States.” It is time to act.
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