The Biden administration officially announced on Thursday that it will extend temporary protections to thousands of Ukrainians already in the U.S., citing the “humanitarian crisis” perpetrated by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. More than 1 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since the invasion began, the U.N. has said.
“Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing war, senseless violence, and Ukrainians forced to seek refuge in other countries,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in designating Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). “In these extraordinary times, we will continue to offer our support and protection to Ukrainian nationals in the United States.”
Under the designation, Ukrainians who have “continuously resided” in the U.S. since March 1 will be eligible for 18-month protections. While lawmakers have previously said that roughly 30,000 Ukrainians could be eligible for relief, a DHS spokesperson said more than double that amount, 75,000, could be eligible.
The Temporary Protected Status Deferred Enforced Departure Administrative Advocacy Coalition (TPS-DED AAC), which consists of more than 100 organizations, applauded the administration’s decision.
“We applaud the Biden administration for its quick action to provide life-saving protection to Ukrainians in the United States through TPS as this war unfolds,” said Ukrainian American Bar Association President Victoria Kulik in a statement received by Daily Kos. “This designation is a powerful and needed message for Ukrainians as people are forced to flee their homes and country and hundreds have lost their lives. We hope this is only the first step of a broad U.S. humanitarian response to protect and welcome Ukrainians in need.”
Advocates and mostly Democratic lawmakers had been urging the Biden administration to designate Ukraine for relief, the latter saying in letters that the nation “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.”
Under U.S. immigration law, the federal government has the authority to designate nations for TPS “if it meets certain conditions that temporarily preclude its nationals from returning safely,” the Center for American Progress (CAP) said. The Biden administration already exercised this authority this same week, designating Sudan, and redesignating South Sudan, for protected status. DHS similarly cited civil unrest in that announcement.
TPS-DED AAC in its statement noted the continued need for the Biden administration to extend these same protections to other immigrants who will also face certain harm if they’re deported. “The coalition urges President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Secretary Mayorkas to use its authority to similarly designate TPS for other countries where nationals are in urgent need of protection, including Cameroon, Mauritania, and Afghanistan.”
“Cameroon meets the conditions required for a TPS designation: It has an escalating armed conflict as well as multiple ‘extraordinary and temporary’ challenges that make the immediate return of Cameroonian nationals risky,” CAP said. “There is documented evidence that many Cameroonians who are deported from the United States have faced detention, rape, torture, and extortion. Some have gone into hiding, and others have gone missing. Often, those deported are targeted because of ‘their actual or imputed opposition to the government.’”
Like the relatively quick designation of Ukraine demonstrates, the Biden administration can take action to protect thousands of other vulnerable immigrants from harm today.
“Cameroonians, Mauritanians, and other Black immigrants have been living in a traumatic limbo, hoping to at least rest knowing they are protected by TPS,” African Communities Together Policy Director Diana Konaté said. “We implore our government to take action for Black immigrants and designate TPS for Cameroon and Mauritania.”
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