Biden to Grant Protected Status to Ukrainian Immigrants Already in U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security will allow Ukrainian immigrants who are already in the United States to apply for temporary protected status, shielding those without legal documentation from deportation for at least 18 months. The humanitarian relief announced by the Biden administration extends to Ukrainians who had entered the U.S. by March 1. “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,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary. Temporary protected status has been extended in the past to immigrants from roughly a dozen other nations, including Haiti, Syria, and Venezuela. More than 400,000 people are currently living in the U.S. under the designation, The New York Times reported. More than 1 million Ukrainians have already fled their homes in Ukraine, according to U.N. data, with the potential for as many as 10 million to be displaced by the Russian invasion.