Trump officials order suspension of immigration programs, including Ukrainians – NYT

Trump officials ordered a pause in immigration programs, including Ukrainians – NYT Yulia Murina

Homeland Security Department officials have ordered to pause a number of programs that allowed immigrants to temporarily settle in the United States. In particular, the key initiative that provides entry for Ukrainians.

This was reported by 24 Channel with reference to the NYT.

Trump ordered to suspend immigrant admission programs

The directive was given to journalists by a senior official at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. It requires an immediate halt to making “final decisions” on applications related to the programs in question while the administration reviews them and decides whether to terminate them.

The scale of the programs in question is enormous. The reporters noted that the move would block entry for immigrants fleeing some of the world's “most unstable places.”

In addition to Ukraine, which has suffered from years of war, the programs offered a path to immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela, the publication noted.

The reporters also said that the move indicates that the Trump administration is planning a “massive crackdown” on a wide range of programs that allowed people to enter the United States temporarily.

This suspension of parole decisions is similar to the suspension of all access to asylum at the border and the suspension of the refugee program. It is evidence of the administration’s hostility to all humanitarian immigration, said the director of the U.S. and Europe offices of Refugee International.

Trump administration officials say he believes many of these programs “were never lawful.” On Monday, the president signed an order requiring the Department of Homeland Security to end “all categorical parole programs that are inconsistent with U.S. policy established by his executive orders,” or programs that allow large numbers of people to enter the country under a temporary status known as “parole.”

The acting head of the Department of Homeland Security has ordered agencies to review parole programs to determine which ones meet Trump’s requirements. If necessary, suspend the action pending review.

Reporters also noted that a representative of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed the existence of the guidance issued this week, but was unable to provide any further comment.

Administration officials have been particularly critical of programs like the one that allowed more than 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua to enter the United States on parole if they had financial sponsors.

Incidentally, on Monday, the Trump administration quickly shut down one of the programs that allowed migrants to enter the United States using the government's CBP One app.