The Trump administration is preparing to deport dozens of Ukrainians with final removal orders, even as the war in Ukraine continues and Russia steps up attacks.
A court filing on Wednesday revealed that the US plans to deport 41-year-old Roman Surovtsev as early as Monday, The Washington Post reported.
His lawyers say Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may also remove many other Ukrainians at the same time, possibly using military flights to Ukraine or Poland.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Olha Stefanishyna, said the embassy knows of around 80 Ukrainians who are facing deportation for breaking US laws.
She said the US is now arranging how to return them since commercial flights to Ukraine are suspended because of the war.
Stefanishyna stressed that deportation is a normal legal process that applies to citizens of any country.
Kyiv now willing to accept deportees
For years, Ukraine has often refused to take back people with unclear citizenship. But now, during wartime and relying heavily on US support, Kyiv appears to be cooperating.
“The US can deport as many as they want,” a senior Ukrainian official told The Washington Post. “We’ll find a use for them.”
Lawyers: Some Ukrainians denied a chance to say they fear returning
Surovtsev’s attorneys say some detainees are not being given the chance to explain why they fear returning to Ukraine – which they say violates US law.
They warn that deportees could face forced mobilization, frontline deployment, and a high risk of death.
ICE insists every detainee receives due process, but will not confirm upcoming operations.
More Ukrainians facing removal
Another Ukrainian, Andrey Bernik, told reporters he was informed he would be flown to Poland and handed over to Ukrainian officials.
Bernik moved to the US as a child, once had a green card, and tried – unsuccessfully – to get a Ukrainian passport.
He was convicted of second-degree murder years ago, though his sentence was later reduced after showing significant rehabilitation.
“I understand I’m being deported,” Bernik said. “But not to a war zone.”
Numbers rising again
Only 53 Ukrainians were deported in fiscal year 2024 as the war made removals difficult. Deporting all 80 now would be the highest number in years.
International laws state that people should not be deported to places where they could face persecution, torture, or extreme danger.
Rights groups say the US is pushing those limits by sending people to conflict zones like South Sudan – and now Ukraine.
A decade-long case
Surovtsev moved to the US at age 4 and grew up in California. He got involved in crime as a teenager, serving more than 11 years in prison for burglary and an armed carjacking.
In 2014, he was ordered deported, but Ukraine couldn’t confirm his citizenship and refused to take him. Because ICE couldn’t deport him, he was released.
Courts clear the way for deportation
On Oct. 31, US District Judge James Hendrix ruled against releasing Surovtsev, saying his deportation order remains valid.
The judge noted that Ukraine is now far more cooperative, and that the US has invested billions of dollars into Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction. In this context, deportation requests have grown.
Another federal judge briefly blocked the removal earlier this week, but reversed the decision on Thursday.
ICE attempted to move him Thursday morning
According to his lawyers, ICE officers woke Surovtsev at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, ordered him to pack, and placed him on a bus – without giving him a “reasonable fear interview,” despite his repeated claims that he fears being killed if returned to Ukraine.
About 90 minutes later, officers brought him back to the detention facility. His fate remains unclear.
“He fears being sent to a country at war,” his lawyers wrote. “He risks being killed by Russian forces, and as a Russian-speaking foreigner, he also fears persecution by Ukrainian authorities.”