US suspends Ukrainian refugee program following Trump's immigration order
Due to President Donald Trump's executive order against immigration, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has suspended the acceptance of asylum applications from Ukrainians under the Uniting for Ukraine program.
This is stated on the USCIS website.
Trump's executive order on border security has stopped accepting asylum applications and financial aid requests from Ukrainian refugees until all pending U.S. residency applications are reviewed.
"In connection with the Executive Order of January 20, 2025, "Securing Our Borders," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services is suspending the acceptance of Form I-134A, the online request for support and the declaration of financial support," the department emphasized.
It should be noted that Uniting for Ukraine is a humanitarian protection program for Ukrainian citizens, under which they can receive asylum in the United States for two years.
In addition, this program gave the right to:
- work in the United States,
- study,
- have health insurance,
- other rights during these two years.
The U4U program also temporarily allowed Ukrainians to enter the United States with a sponsor. According to the government, more than 150,000 Ukrainians had taken advantage of this program as of September 2023.
It should be noted that in January 2025, the United States of America decided to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukrainian citizens for another 18 months.
As is known, on January 20, President Trump signed the "Protecting Our Borders" executive order. In it, the president instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security to adjust asylum programs for people arriving in the United States and to stop asylum programs that contradict US policy.
After that, the Council of Ukrainian Christian Churches of Washington State appealed to President Trump not to suspend programs for refugees from Ukraine, particularly U4U and TPS.
"Churches in Washington State continue to care for families of Ukrainians who have fled to the United States from the war in Ukraine. The government program United for Ukraine (U4U) and Temporary Protective Status (TPS) remain critically needed for them as a way to legally stay in the United States, given the ongoing genocide of Ukrainians that Russian forces continue to commit through daily shelling of the civilian population of Ukraine with ballistic and cruise missiles, drones, and artillery," Ukrainian religious leaders in Washington State emphasize.
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It is worth adding that after the US State Department ordered the suspension of foreign assistance programs to other countries for 90 days for an audit, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ukraine was ordered to suspend all projects and expenditures on them.
Earlier, several media outlets reported that the US State Department had issued a "ceasefire" order for all existing foreign aid and suspended new assistance. This will also affect some humanitarian projects for Ukraine.
The Pentagon said that security assistance to Ukraine "does not fall under the restrictions of the recent foreign assistance order, as it applies only to development programs, not military support." Thus, Trump's order does not affect contracts for weapons production for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program, which concluded during the Joe Biden administration.
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