On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation that would offer Ukrainians who recently arrived in the United States a temporary safety net to allow them to stay here while conditions in Ukraine remain dangerous. The Illinois Senator and longtime supporter of Ukraine sponsored a new bill on February 24, 2025 that seeks to seeks to provide temporary guest status to Ukrainians who are already in the United States through the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program.

The Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act proposes to grant U4U parolees a “temporary Ukrainian guest status” as of the date they were initially paroled into the United States. The bill also proposes to grant automatic employment authorization to parolees who are granted temporary Ukrainian guest status under this legislation that is “incident to and for the duration of such status.” This means that approximately approximately 280,000 individuals who were already paroled through Uniting for Ukraine would not have to apply for a new protective status or work permit in order to stay in the U.S. if they are able to be granted this temporary Ukrainian guest status.

~ The majority of Ukrainian parolees who sought refuge in the United States are vulnerable young women, mothers with small children, elderly grandparents, disabled individuals, and those facing severe illnesses or life-threatening conditions. After the unspeakable atrocities they have witnessed and the loved ones many of them have lost, all they ask for is some safety and stability until it is safe for them to return home. ~

The temporary Ukrainian guest status under this proposed legislation would be different than the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that already exists under U.S. immigration law. Only individuals from countries that have been designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security may apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for TPS protection, and TPS eligibility is limited to individuals who have Ukrainian citizenship and arrived in the U.S. before a certain date (in the case of Ukrainians, August 16, 2023). This makes it impossible for certain family members from Ukraine who don’t have Ukrainian citizenship to benefit from TPS protections. It also prevents those who are not eligible for TPS from obtaining work permits based on TPS, which means they may not be able to work after their humanitarian parole expires. For more information on TPS, read our article on Ukraine’s TPS designation.

In contrast, the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act would allow all individuals who were paroled through Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) to be granted a temporary Ukrainian guest status no matter when they arrived in the United States, even if some of their paroled family members do not have Ukrainian citizenship. And, it would provide automatic employment authorization for these individuals. This would significantly reduce the number of applications that would need to be submitted to USCIS for Ukrainian re-parole, TPS, and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). Notably, under this bill, Ukrainians would be able to stay and work in the U.S. until the Secretary of State determines that hostilities in Ukraine have ceased and it is safe for them to return.

This is critical right now for several reasons:

  1. Over 280,000 Ukrainians arrived in the U.S. since 2022 on the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program. They were only granted humanitarian parole for 2 years. Unfortunately, the Trump Administration indefinitely suspended the Uniting for Ukraine program on January 27, 2025. This means that no Ukrainians are able to enter through this program. It also means that Ukrainians who are already in the U.S. on this program cannot apply for another term of parole through this program (i.e. Ukrainian re-parole). Parole will expire or will soon expire for many of them. If they are out of status, they can be deported.
  2. Ukraine’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — a different immigration protection using existing legal mechanisms — has an uncertain future under the Trump Administration. Right now, those Ukrainians who already have TPS are allowed to stay through April 19, 2025. President Biden extended Ukraine’s TPS designation through October 19, 2026 through a published notice in the Federal Register, but we are not sure if the extension will remain. Following a January 20th Executive Order directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to re-evaluate the TPS designations of all countries, the new Secretary of Homeland Security has already vacated two TPS extensions and terminated certain TPS designations. Based on these actions, there is concern that DHS could vacate Ukraine’s TPS extension and even terminate Ukraine’s TPS designation, leaving Ukrainians with expired parole with no other valid status.
  3. Also, TPS is only available to Ukrainians who arrived in the U.S. on or before August 16, 2023. This leaves a lot of Ukrainians without the ability to extend their legal stay here. Additionally, since TPS is only available to Ukrainian citizens, a number of families with mixed citizenships may family members who are not eligible for TPS. These families would be forced to either lived separately in different countries or return to Ukraine together, exposing them to serious risk of harm.
  4. If these challenges weren’t enough, there is legitimate concern on the part of immigration groups that the Trump Administration could proactively terminate the parole statuses of all individuals who arrived through a sponsored parole program. This includes Uniting for Ukraine (U4U), the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV), and Family Reunification parole programs. If this happens, parolees could suddenly see their valid parole stays terminated, as well as their employment authorization and benefits through parole.
  5. Compounding all the above challenges is the recent decision by USCIS to place an “administrative pause” on final adjudication of all immigration applications filed by Ukrainian humanitarian parolees. This temporary suspension means that Ukrainians who came here on humanitarian parole and try to apply for TPS, a new work permit, asylum, and even a green card through a family sponsor will not be adjudicated. Even Ukrainians who already filed applications for re-parole before it was suspended will not receive a decision. Moreover, Ukrainians whose immigration applications were already in progress a year ago or more have seen their interviews cancelled.

Not only does the temporary suspension of application approvals endanger Ukrainian parolees who are filing for first-time TPS, but it also prevents those who already have TPS from extending their status through October 2026. For many of those Ukrainians, TPS is the only legal status they have, so if it expires on April 19, 2025, they will be left without a valid status. This is a disastrous situation that effectively cuts off any possible way for Ukrainian parolees to seek or extend their valid status in order to stay here legally.

~These parolees are in danger of losing lawful status with no mechanisms to prolong it, which puts them at serious risk of immigration enforcement, detention, and even deportation. This could have dangerous consequences, particularly for vulnerable Ukrainians who face a very real risk of physical harm. ~

The fact is, most recent arrivals from Ukraine came on humanitarian parole through the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program. If they are unable to have their re-parole, TPS, asylum, work permits, or green card applications processed, they have no means by which to extend their stay. This exposes them to high risk of being apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as well as local law enforcement officers.

With the expansion of “Expedited Removal,” a fast-tracked administrative protocol that allows DHS officers to detain and quickly deport individuals without due process or a hearing before an immigration judge, many Ukrainian humanitarian parolees are understandably anxious that they will be targeted by ICE. This is because the Trump Administration has designated recent arrivals who have been in the U.S. for less than two years as high priorities for Expedited Removal. Even parolees who have been in the U.S. for two or more years are subject to the Trump Administration’s directive to allow DHS officers to review and terminate the parole status of any individual who no longer demonstrate the need to have humanitarian parole. This gives immigration officers full discretion to suddenly end a grant of parole for a person who may unexpectedly encounter ICE or law enforcement in the course of their day or during a traffic stop. Once their parole is terminated, they are subject to indefinite immigration detention and removal proceedings that could result in the Ukrainian individuals being deported.

One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), urged his Republican colleagues “to join us in standing by displaced Ukrainians and standing up against Putin’s ruthless attempts to isolate and erase Ukraine.” As of now, no Republican Senators have co-sponsored the Protecting our Guests During Hostilities in Ukraine Act. This is despite the fact that thousands of their constituents from different political perspectives generously welcomed approximately 280,000 Ukrainians into their homes and communities through the Uniting for Ukraine program. This shows that the American people care about the plight of Ukrainians and want to see them protected in the United States.

~ No matter what else Congress agrees or disagrees on with regard to Ukraine, Americans overwhelmingly agree that Ukrainian families fleeing war deserve protection in the United States. This is why both Republicans and Democrats petitioned the administration to protect Ukrainian newcomers from deportation and to prolong their lawful status here. ~

U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) signed on to co-sponsor this important legislation. Senator Durbin, who is also the Democratic Whip, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, hopes that at least some Republican Senators will support his efforts to grant U4U parolees temporary guest status.

“The individuals included in the bill already underwent rigorous vetting to ensure that they present no criminal or public safety risks,” writes Sen. Durbin. “The legislation would also allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to revoke this temporary [guest] status if new information raises such concerns about any individual.”

The text of the bill can be found here: https://www.durbin.senate.gov/download/mcc25167

Photo by Sergei Grits. Credit: AP via Creative Commons.