WASHINGTON, DC – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that Ukrainian citizens who fled the ongoing war in their homeland and sought refuge in the United States would be permitted to remain in the country until the conflict concludes.
“We will. We have a lot of people who came in from Ukraine, and we’re working with them,” Trump stated in a brief interaction with reporters at the White House.
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This announcement came as a surprise to many, particularly given the Trump administration’s consistent rhetoric and previous actions that signaled a more restrictive approach to immigration, and specifically, to those granted temporary legal status under programs initiated by the prior administration.
A History of Uncertainty for Ukrainian Refugees
Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has been actively re-evaluating and, in some cases, moving to terminate humanitarian parole programs established during the Biden presidency.
The “Uniting for Ukraine” (U4U) initiative, a streamlined process started in the Biden era in April 2022, was a key pathway that allowed US-based sponsors to bring Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members to the US for a temporary period of up to two years on humanitarian parole.
More than 240,000 Ukrainians benefited from this program, seeking safety from Russia’s full-scale invasion. However, anxiety among these refugees and their supporters has been high. Earlier in the year, reports indicated that the Trump administration was considering revoking the temporary legal status for many Ukrainians, potentially placing them on a fast track to deportation.
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This concern was exacerbated by an erroneous email sent by the Department of Homeland Security in April, which mistakenly informed some Ukrainian refugees that their parole was being terminated and that they must leave the country immediately.
Although DHS later confirmed the email was sent in error, the incident underscored the precariousness of their situation. Moreover, the administration had previously paused new applications for U4U in January, and internal discussions hinted at a broader effort to dismantle humanitarian parole programs that had allowed over 1.8 million migrants into the US under temporary provisions.
Various reports cited plans to utilize funds initially earmarked for refugee aid to instead finance the “voluntary return” of immigrants, including Ukrainians, with some proposals suggesting a payment of up to $1,000 for those who agreed to leave.
Policy Advocate Welcomes Trump’s statement, Connects Policy to War’s End
Trump’s latest remarks offer a dramatic shift in tone and policy. While vague on specifics of how the administration will “work with them,” the commitment to allow Ukrainians to stay until the war’s end provides a much-needed sense of security to a population that has faced immense uncertainty.
This move could alleviate fears of mass deportations and allow those who have begun rebuilding their lives in the US to continue doing so without the immediate threat of removal. Doug Klain, a policy analyst for Razom, a US-based organization that advocates for Ukrainian interests and provides humanitarian aid, welcomed Trump’s statement.
“It’s incredibly heartening to see [that] President Trump recognizes that Ukrainians who’ve fled the war want to return home,” Klain told the Kyiv Post.
He further emphasized the crucial link between supporting Ukraine’s defense and enabling refugees to eventually return: “By giving Ukraine the tools it needs to defend itself against Russia, he can make sure the war ends sooner so they can go home to rebuild.”
Klain said, “Ukrainian refugees, of course, want to return home, and the responsible move is for the United States to make sure they have a safe home to return to. It’s great to see President Trump recognize that, and I have no doubt this will make a lot of people happy.”
The statement also stands in contrast to the administration’s broader efforts to limit the US Refugee Admissions Program, which has seen indefinite suspensions and strict eligibility changes.
It remains to be seen how this specific commitment to Ukrainians will be implemented and whether it signals any broader softening of the administration’s immigration stance for other humanitarian parolees.
For now, however, it offers a crucial lifeline to thousands of Ukrainians caught between the devastation of war and the complexities of US immigration policy.
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