Thousands of Ukrainians who are legally living in the United States thanks to the ‘Unite for Ukraine’ program have felt panic in the last few hours. The reason was a message issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) where they were told (more like ordered) to leave the country within the next seven days. Of course, this news spread like wildfire, causing anguish, confusion, and many questions among these citizens. Don’t worry! 24 hours later, the authorities clarified that it was an administrative error and everything is now resolved. We’re telling you everything that happened and how the lives of thousands of migrants suddenly seemed to collapse.
What did the email say?
The message told these citizens that their immigration applications had been denied or that they required additional action to avoid cancellation. The notification was especially direct: ‘Do not attempt to remain in the United States. The Federal Government will find you. Please leave the country immediately,’ giving these users a 7-day deadline to leave. And of course, it caused panic, logically, because many users thought their process had been officially rejected and their stay in the country was in danger.
A miscalculation
The DHS had already confirmed that they would not accept any more applications for this program, making it clear that the permits already granted would not be revoked, but confirmed that this message had been sent in error and from the agency itself. They had to notify that the message received under the title ‘Notice of Termination of Parole’ was sent by mistake and that no action would be taken.
Thousands of people affected
Mainly because of the email’s ambiguity. It did not include details about any user’s case or a way to check the status of the applications. In many cases, the migrants don’t even have legal advice and depend on what they can interpret themselves. The confusion was a clear example that migrants are very unprotected in situations like this one (even if this case was just an administrative error).
What happened after the message?
The director of the non-profit organization IA NICE, Angela Boelens, said that many families contacted her organization very worried, fearing they would lose their immigration status, causing, of course, immeasurable emotional damage. She also pointed out the lack of clarity about who was responsible for the email. Why was it so intimidating? What was the reason for that message? From this and other organizations, they are urging the authorities to name who made the mistake.
What should migrants who received the email do?
First of all, stay calm. It has already been clarified that it was an administrative error. But if you want to feel more at ease, you can check the DHS portal to see if your immigration status has any updates. And if you still have doubts, seek legal advice, as it is something fundamental that we often overlook.
What now?
It is important to stress that the system needs to be renewed. It cannot be that thousands of people fear losing their immigration status because of an administrative error, especially when these people are already at risk of social exclusion due to language barriers, even more so when we’re talking about users who had to leave their countries to protect their lives.
What is ‘Unite for Ukraine’?
UFU was a program launched by former president Biden in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory. This way, those citizens in need could enter the United States under humanitarian parole. The program also requires that the migrants entering the country have a ‘sponsor’ (something like a guarantor when renting an apartment) who is responsible for their financial support and legal status.
In total, 240,000 people have accessed this program.