President Trump initiated executive orders addressing illegal immigration earlier this week.
As reported by the New York Times on Friday, the US government has temporarily suspended multiple immigration programs, impacting Ukrainians seeking temporary residency. A Thursday directive from a senior US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) official halted final decisions on program applications pending review.
This reportedly includes humanitarian parole programs, implemented under the Biden administration, granting approved migrants up to two years in the US, work permits, and protection from deportation. Affected programs include “Uniting for Ukraine,” facilitating over 150,000 Ukrainian arrivals by September 2023 (government data).
Further suspensions affect humanitarian parole for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela—programs admitting over 500,000 since late 2022.
The directive also impacts family reunification programs and an initiative for Central American minors with US-based relatives. A USCIS spokesperson confirmed the directive to the New York Times but declined further comment.
This action follows Monday’s executive order from President Trump, instructing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end categorical parole programs conflicting with US policy and review existing cases for legal compliance. Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued further directives that day, ending broad humanitarian parole applications and reverting to case-by-case evaluations.
“This measure restores the humanitarian parole program to its original intent of individual migrant assessments… Criminals will no longer evade arrest by hiding in American schools and churches,” a DHS spokesperson stated.
President Trump has consistently promised decisive action on illegal immigration. Following his Monday inauguration, he signed executive orders bolstering border security, including declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and ending automatic birthright citizenship for children of non-lawful permanent residents.
On Monday, President Trump also ordered a comprehensive review of US foreign aid, including aid to Ukraine. Subsequently, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly froze almost all Ukrainian grants for 90 days, encompassing development and military aid. During his campaign, President Trump repeatedly criticized US foreign aid to countries like Ukraine, promising to reduce the financial burden on American taxpayers.