Quigley, Kaptur, Pingree Call for Trump Admin to Preserve Legal Status for Ukrainians

Today, U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (IL-05) and Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, together with U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (ME-01), led 33 members of Congress in calling on the Trump administration to rapidly address applications for legal status and work authorization by Ukrainians currently in the United States.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have sought refuge in the United States through the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program. Now, many are seeing their statuses lapse as a massive backlog has developed within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Following President Trump’s recent encouraging comments about the U4U program, the bipartisan group of members is urging the administration to adjudicate outstanding requests for legal status and work authorization and to extend parole for Ukrainians with expiring statuses.

The members wrote, in part, “After years of being employed, paying taxes, and contributing to our neighborhoods, Ukrainians in our districts now live in uncertainty–a state of limbo that hurts communities and employers alike who’ve sought to help this population.

A copy of the signed letter is available HERE. The full text of the letter is available below:

Dear Secretary Noem and Director Edlow,

We write to express our continued support for Ukrainians who have been granted temporary status in the United States through the Uniting for Ukraine program. We ask your administration to take swift, decisive actions to preserve legal status and work authorization for Ukrainians who have found safety in the United States amid the devastating conflict brought upon their homeland. 

Five months ago, we marked three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale, unprovoked, and illegal invasion of Ukraine. This brutal assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and democracy has forced millions to flee their homeland in search of safety. Since February 24, 2022, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have sought refuge in the United States. For many of them, the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program has provided a vital humanitarian lifeline, offering a pathway to safety, dignity, and hope.

Many individuals and families from Ukraine received travel authorization to the United States, a lawful status and temporary basis for work authorization through the Uniting for Ukraine program for up to two years. However, Ukrainians in our districts are increasingly seeing their statuses and work authorization lapse under expiring grants of parole offered under the program. After years of being employed, paying taxes, and contributing to our neighborhoods, Ukrainians in our districts now live in uncertainty–a state of limbo that hurts communities and employers alike who’ve sought to help this population. We believe a series of limited, concrete actions within your authority could protect this population as hostilities continue in Ukraine, such as:

1. Adjudicate outstanding requests for lawful status, work authorization: Many Ukrainians have applied for re-parole, Temporary Protected Status, and work authorization but have not had their applications adjudicated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under an administrative hold. We urge USCIS to swiftly adjudicate outstanding employment authorization and other benefits requests from U4U beneficiaries under the June 9 “Adjudication of Requests filed by Parolees Under Specified Parole Programs” memo. Backlog reduction efforts would make a substantial difference in providing certainty and clarity to thousands of Ukrainian individuals and families who sought relief in a timely manner.
2. Re-parole and/or parole extensions for Ukrainians with expiring parole: Under the operational lifting of the USCIS administrative pause, DHS should accept, consider, and adjudicate new applications for re-parole from U4U beneficiaries, or deploy a limited parole extension process on a case-by-case basis. These processes would provide an orderly framework for Ukrainians to preserve an expiring status and/or work authorization outside of the backlogged asylum system.

We are grateful for your administration’s support for peace in Ukraine. Until that is achieved, we ask you to preserve protections for those affected by this terrible war.