Hours after Russian troops crossed into Ukraine and explosions were reported in multiple cities, including the capital, Kyiv, a coalition of organizations called on U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and President Joe Biden to immediately grant Ukrainians TPS or Deferred Enforced Departure, which are two similar forms of deportation protection. TPS offers protections and work permits to people from designated countries in crisis for a limited period of time, while DED, a discretionary presidential power, is not time-limited.
The coalition, which includes Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch, calls itself the TPS-DED Administrative Advocacy Coalition.
"TPS and DED are readily available tools that the administration has at its fingertips to provide life-saving protection to Ukrainians here in the U.S., as well as send a direct and clear foreign policy message to the world that Ukrainian nationals must be protected everywhere," said Lisa Parisio, the advocacy director at Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., another member of the coalition.
There are more than 104,000 Ukrainian noncitizens in the U.S., including green card holders and undocumented immigrants, according to the U.S. Census' 2019 American Community Survey.
That estimate includes roughly 2,000 Ukrainians studying in the U.S. on F-1 student visas, who the coalition said should be given Special Student Relief and temporarily freed from visa regulations governing their course load and off-campus work eligibility.
Calls to provide Ukrainians with TPS also came from several other advocacy groups, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association urging the administration to take all steps to allow Ukrainians to stay in the country, including by quickly processing any pending immigration applications.
"Only then can the United States live up to its ideal of providing a place of refuge for those fleeing violence," it said.
In a separate statement, the Council on National Security and Immigration said Russia's attack warranted "swift action and robust protections."
A DHS spokesperson said the department is continuing to closely monitor conditions in various countries.
"We have no announcements to share or preview at this time," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Since taking office, the Biden administration has issued two new TPS designations and one DED order, covering residents from Hong Kong, Venezuela and Burma.
Lora Adams, a campaign coordinator at the coalition, said the administration would have to do more than just announce new protections for Ukrainians. TPS and DED only cover people who are in the U.S. when the status is granted, and the White House would have to take further steps to welcome people fleeing the crisis in Ukraine, she said.
Russia's invasion may displace up to 5 million Ukrainians, according to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Though Poland and Ukraine's other neighbors have indicated they are preparing for refugees, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service estimated that central European nations don't have the capacity to accept all the refugees.
"The U.S. can also lead by example and live up to its highest ideals in welcoming more refugees fleeing violent conflict, including from Ukraine. The refugee resettlement system is precisely how we protect vulnerable populations," said LIRS President Krish O'Mara Vignarajah.
--Editing by Marygrace Anderson.
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