Politico: Over 100,000 Ukrainians in US face threat of deportation

The administration of US President Donald Trump has until 19 October to decide whether to renew or cancel Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 100,000 Ukrainians who have fled the war.

Source: Politico

Details: The publication notes that lawmakers from both parties hope Trump will extend the status for Ukrainian citizens. However, some also support a back-up option: letting the status expire without officially cancelling it.

This would trigger an automatic six-month extension but leave Ukrainians in a state of limbo. Under this scenario, individuals could avoid deportation, but their right to work legally and study in the US would remain uncertain.

Some hardline politicians in Congress are publicly demanding that the administration wind down all temporary protection programmes in the country. In response to criticism from anti-immigration voices, the White House has recently been actively boasting about record deportation numbers.

Politico notes that placing Ukrainians in this interim status would allow the Trump administration to avoid a public relations scandal over deporting people to a war zone ahead of the midterm elections, while also potentially satisfying hardline immigration advocates.

Quote from a congressional aide: "The significant political backlash that would come from the administration trying to deport Ukrainians is a major factor here. It's flawed to keep them in a limbo status like El Salvador, but that might be a likely path for the admin."

Details: The publication stresses that ongoing challenges in US-Ukrainian relations are also affecting Washington's stance on Ukrainian refugees.

Quote from another source: "There's no incentive to do anything positive for Ukraine right now. Everything with Ukraine functions in line with the broader bilateral relationship, and fundamentally things haven't changed with Trump."

Details: Defenders of Ukrainians' rights and some lawmakers continue to publicly push for a full extension of the status. Their arguments are largely based on the negative economic consequences for the US if Ukrainians lose their legal status.

On 22 September, a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The letter stresses that Ukrainians with TPS make up a significant portion of the workforce in the US transport, healthcare and construction sectors. It could also lead to increased costs for American consumers due to the sudden loss of thousands of skilled workers.

At the same time, a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US Congress that would extend temporary protected status for Ukrainians until 2029.

The Ukrainian government has not officially commented on the issue of temporary protected status for its citizens. The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington has not responded to journalists' requests for comment on the matter.

Background:

• In January 2025, immediately after his inauguration, Donald Trump signed an executive order tightening immigration controls. Following this, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stopped accepting online applications from US citizens who wished to financially sponsor Ukrainians moving to the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) programme.
• In 2025, the administration prepared plans for the early termination of protected statuses (humanitarian parole and TPS) for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals, including Ukrainians.
• However, fierce bipartisan criticism from Congress forced the White House to postpone plans for the forced deportation of Ukrainian citizens, while the temporary statuses of people from Haiti, Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, Cameroon and Myanmar were significantly restricted or cancelled.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon to help us keep reporting!