Ukrainians and others fleeing the conflict will be able to enter the U.S. through the Refugee Admissions Program, according to a fact sheet from the White House. The Biden administration will also expand pre-existing immigration programs and develop new ones to ease Ukrainians' entry into the U.S., especially those who already have family in the country, the White House said.
But the administration "expect[s] many Ukrainians will choose to remain in Europe close to family and their homes in Ukraine," the White House said.
More than 3.6 million people have fled the Eastern European country since the invasion began, with the majority headed to neighboring Poland, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
The White House's vow to accept Ukrainian refugees comes one day before President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda to discuss the U.S. humanitarian and human rights response.
Thus far, the U.S.' immigration response to the invasion has primarily focused on bolstering regional efforts to provide refugees with food, housing and medical care. The White House has already provided more than $123 million to Poland and Ukraine's other neighbors, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and the Slovak Republic.
The Biden administration also announced at the start of this month that it would pause the deportation of Ukrainians who were in the U.S. as of March 1.
Also on Thursday, the administration said it was sending an additional $1 billion in humanitarian aid. Congress had already approved $13.6 billion in emergency aid, including security assistance. The White House dipped into those funds last week when it announced $1 billion of military aid.
The administration also launched a program called the European Democratic Resilience Initiative to provide $320 million to support the documentation and preservation of evidence of potential war crimes committed in Ukraine. The funds will also support media freedom, counter disinformation, protect activists and vulnerable minority groups, and support democratic institutions, the White House said.
"New lines of effort, including the establishment of a conflict observatory, will gather information that can be shared with a range of accountability efforts at the national and international level designed to hold Russia accountable for its actions," it said.
--Editing by Philip Shea.
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