Washington plans to allow Ukrainian refugees to enter the United States as part of a humanitarian effort to help countries fighting Russia’s aggression.
“Many Ukrainians expect to choose to stay in Europe near Ukrainian families and homes, but today the United States has a US refugee immigration program,” said the White House on March 24. rice field. Fact sheet..
“We are working to expand and develop new programs, with a particular focus on welcoming Ukrainians with families in the United States.”
Since February 24, the United States has provided more than $ 123 million to neighboring countries and the European Union to accept Ukrainian refugees. This includes $ 48 million in Poland, $ 30 million in Moldova, $ 10 million in Romania, $ 9 million in Hungary and $ 4 million in the Slovak Republic.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 3.6 million Ukrainians have fled the country. data From the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Poland has the largest number of refugees and is home to more than 2.17 million Ukrainians. Romania has accepted more than 500,000 refugees, and Moldova and Hungary have each accepted more than 300,000 refugees.
Talk to ReutersJulia Gelatt, senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), welcomed the US commitment, but said, “I have a lot of questions” about how quickly and how much Washington can help. rice field. Ukrainians with relatives in the United States may use a family-based visa to obtain permanent residence in the United States.
But their petitions only add to the already large backlog of hundreds of thousands of unprocessed visa applications, Gelatt said. Ukrainians may attempt to enter the country using a humanitarian parole program. However, this particular program does not offer permanent residence.
President Joe Biden has set a goal of resettlement of 125,000 refugees in the fiscal year beginning in October. In almost five months, 6,500 refugees were accepted.
Biden promised to reset 100,000 Ukrainians in him remarks He also announced funding to support refugees from war-torn countries.
“I announce that the United States is preparing to provide more than $ 1 billion in humanitarian aid to rescue millions of Ukrainians affected by the war in Ukraine.” Biden said. “And we will invest $ 320 million to strengthen the democratic resilience of Ukraine and its neighbors and protect human rights.”
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Naveen Athrappully is a news reporter on business and global events in The Epoch Times.