WASHINGTON, May 20. /TASS/. The Trump administration plans to strip 200,000 Ukrainians who arrived in the country after 2022 of their temporary refugee status and ask them to leave the US voluntarily, The Washington Post reported, referencing a document it obtained.
The story says the White House plans to allocate up to $250 million, money saved by reducing spending on foreign aid, to a program to expel refugees who have arrived from active combat zones. Besides Ukrainians, the decision may affect 500,000 Haitians.
"The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department are working together to further implement the President’s agenda by using foreign aid money to assist those illegally in our country to voluntarily self-deport," DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, confirmiing the authenticity of the documents, which were drafted in late April-early May, adding, however, that they were "outdated." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem, McLaughlin said, has not made a "final" decision on what, if anything will be done with people from Haiti or Ukraine who fall under this protected status.
In a statement, the State Department acknowledged that, along with DHS, it is seeking to provide "travel support and financial incentives" aimed at encouraging migrants to leave the United States voluntarily, in line with all legal regulations. Officials declined to address questions about Ukrainians and Haitians specifically.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken in favor of tightening immigration policy. He said that under his administration, the country would be witness to the largest deportation of illegal immigrants in American history.