From Irene Willis Hassan, MDiv, Minister for Refugee and Migration Ministries, Global H.O.P.E. – Humanitarian. Opportunities. Progress. Empowerment.
Greetings colleagues in immigration ministries,
Many of you may have read the news this morning [3/24/2022] that the Biden administration intends to admit 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. This letter break downs what that means for our ministries in the church and how we can gather to support and affirm this decision. ABC News released an informative and accurate update on the subject here: US says it will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees - ABC News (go.com)
Why it’s significant: The current US refugee “cap” set forward for 2022 is 125,000 refugees worldwide on standardized I-94 visas (Asylees and Refugees | USCIS). This number does NOT include the 85,000 Afghan parolees that arrived over the course of the last 6 months, nor does it include the 100,000 proposed Ukrainians that will be processed. The White House has not released a visa designation for this specialized Ukrainian population; however, it’s likely that it will look similar to I-94 processing but perhaps hold a unique title and expedited status.
What does that mean: It means the U.S. Ukrainian influx will look more like the Syrian influx of 2015-2017 rather than the Afghan influx of 2021-2022. Ukrainians will likely still be processed in secondary countries such as Belarus or Poland for 6 months – 2 years while awaiting their visa (again, likely some specialized variant of an I-94, which is explained in the link “Asylees and Refugees | USCIS” above). While the number 100,000 is significant, Ukrainians will slowly be processed into the United States over the course of the next 1-3 years. This will not be a repeat of the Afghan humanitarian parole crisis in which a sudden large amount of refugees will arrive all at once. Many refugee offices have recovered from the budget cuts of the Trump administration era and will likely not be overwhelmed by this slow influx of 100,000 Ukrainians in the same way that they were by the Afghan situation. However, this does not uniformly apply, as some areas of the country are likely to see a higher increase than others.
Where does this matter: Like all refugee populations, Ukrainians admitted into the US will likely have a “US Tie.” Ukrainians are more likely to be mostly resettled in Europe, but some will be processed to the United States only if they have friends or family already living here. The United Nations Higher Commission on Refugees will match refugee applications to places and people that will be familiar to the refugee(s) and send them there. For the United States, Ukrainian centers of cultural and population density are:
New York
Chicago
Detroit
Cleveland
Los Angeles
Indianapolis
If you live in one of these cities, you may be a good match for sponsorship and support of a Ukrainian family in the coming months. Please reach out to Rev. Irene Willis Hassan if you’d like more information on how to sponsor a Ukrainian family in these areas, or if your church already has a relationship with your local resettlement office, please call and offer your direct support. We on Team Global HOPE at UCC National will be putting out more information as it becomes available.
What about Temporary Protection Status (TPS)?: Ukrainian nationals currently visiting the United States who arrived on or before March 1, 2022, are eligible for Temporary Protected Status | USCIS. This essentially means the can apply for a stay of deportation and apply for a more permanent type of status. This is not a refugee visa; it simply allows visitors to outstay their current non-immigrant visas while the situation in Ukraine is being assessed.
We encourage you to remain present with other refugee and asylum populations that still need support, including Afghans, Haitians, those from the Northern Triangle, and others. We will be hosting a series in May on how to discern responding to back-to-back refugee crises and how and when your church should engage. We also covered this topic partially yesterday in our Ramadan series: Ramadan in a New Country Part 4: Racism and Islam in the Refugee Resettlement System - YouTube
It continues that one of the best ways to support Ukrainians currently is to send donations. Please considering donating to the Ukraine Emergency Appeal here: Ukraine Emergency Appeal - United Church of Christ (ucc.org)
As always, thank you for your engagement with refugee & migration ministries at the United Church of Christ and we look forward to working with you to welcome the stranger with dignity.