Trump To Revoke Legal Status For 240,000 Ukrainians

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to withdraw temporary legal protections from approximately 240,000 Ukrainians who escaped the war with Russia, potentially placing them on an accelerated path to deportation.

This action, anticipated as early as April, would represent a striking departure from the warm reception Ukrainians experienced under President Joe Biden’s administration.

The intended cancellation of safeguards for Ukrainians was in progress prior to Trump’s public dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week. It forms part of a larger Trump administration initiative to remove legal status from over 1.8 million migrants permitted to enter the U.S. through temporary humanitarian parole programs established during the Biden administration, according to sources.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stated that the department had no updates to share at this time. Neither the White House nor the Ukrainian embassy replied to inquiries for comment.

A Trump executive order issued on January 20 directed DHS to “terminate all categorical parole programs.”

The administration intends to rescind parole for around 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans as early as this month, according to a Trump official and one source familiar with the matter, both speaking anonymously to address internal discussions. The proposal to cancel parole for those nationalities was initially reported, opens new tab by CBS News.

Migrants who lose their parole status might encounter expedited deportation proceedings, as outlined in an internal ICE email reviewed by Reuters.

Immigrants entering the country illegally can be subjected to the rapid deportation process called expedited removal for up to two years following their arrival. However, for those who arrived via legal entry points without formal “admission” to the U.S.—such as parole recipients—there is no time restriction on their swift removal, the email explained.

The Biden initiatives were components of a wider strategy to establish temporary legal channels to discourage illegal immigration and offer humanitarian support.

Beyond the 240,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion and the 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, these programs also included more than 70,000 Afghans escaping the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

An additional 1 million migrants arranged their crossings at legal border points using an app known as CBP One.

Thousands more benefited from smaller programs, such as family reunification parole for specific individuals from Latin America and the Caribbean.

As a candidate, Trump vowed to dismantle the Biden programs, asserting that they exceeded the limits of U.S. law.

Last month, the Trump administration halted the processing of immigration-related applications for individuals who entered the U.S. under certain Biden parole programs.

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