Reuters: Trump plans to revoke the legal status of 240,000 Ukrainians while the US intensifies deportations

The administration of US President Donald Trump is planning to revoke the temporary legal status of about 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia, said a senior Trump official and three sources familiar with the matter, which could put them in a quick route towards deportation.

By Reuters

The measure, scheduled for April, would be a surprising change regarding the welcome of the Ukrainians under the administration of President Joe Biden.

The planned reduction of protections for Ukrainians was underway before Trump was publicly fought with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week. It is part of a broader effort of the Trump administration to strip the legal status to more than 1.8 million immigrants who were allowed to enter the United States under temporary humanitarian probation programs launched under the Biden administration, the sources said.

The spokeswoman of the United States National Security Department, Tricia McLaughlin, said the department had no ads at this time. The White House and the Ukraine Embassy did not respond to comments requests.

An executive order of Trump issued on January 20 demanded that the DHS «end all categorical probation programs.»

The government plans to revoke the probation to about 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans as soon as this month, said Trump’s official and one of the familiar sources with the matter, which requested anonymity to be able to talk about internal deliberations.

The plan to revoke probation for these nationalities was first informed by CBS News.

The immigrants who were deprived of their probation status could face accelerated deportation procedures, according to an internal ICE email seen by Reuters.

Immigrants who cross the border can be included in the accelerated deportation process known as accelerated expulsion, for two years after entry. But for those who entered through legal entry ports without being «admitted» officially in the United States, such as those on probation, there is no time limit for their rapid expulsion, said email.

Biden programs were part of a broader effort to create temporary legal routes to deter illegal immigration and provide humanitarian aid.

In addition to the 240,000 Ukrainians who fled from the Russian invasion and the 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, these programs covered more than 70,000 Afghans that escaped the taking of control of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

An additional million migrants scheduled an hour to cross at a legal border crossing through an application known as CBP One.

Thousands more had access to smaller programs, including probation for family gathering for certain people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Trump, as a candidate, promised to end Biden programs, saying that they went beyond the limits of US law.

Last month, the Trump administration stopped the processing of immigration -related applications for people who entered the US. Under certain Biden probation programs, which left the Ukrainian Liana Avetisian, her husband and 14 -year -old daughter, in Limbo. Avetisian, who worked in the real estate sector in Ukraine, now assembles windows while her husband works in construction.