Thousands have applied for the new “Uniting for Ukraine” program
The new sponsorship program for Ukrainians, Uniting for Ukraine, has gained incredible support from U.S. citizens in the short time since its launch two weeks ago. In the first 10 days, 14,500 applications were submitted on behalf of Ukrainians wishing to come to the U.S. –an average of over 1,000 per day. While this program should allow a much quicker pathway for Ukrainians to enter than traditional refugee resettlement, there is less support in place as those entering under humanitarian parole do not qualify for the government assistance that refugees receive upon arrival.
Meanwhile, a new camp has popped up in Mexico City with Ukrainians waiting on their applications to be approved. With the introduction of this new program, Ukrainians are no longer exempted from Title 42 expulsions at the U.S.-Mexico border, and are being forced to wait for their Uniting for Ukraine approval before they are allowed entry.
New allegations arise against CBP
Vice News reported last week that a complaint has been filed against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on behalf of thousands of migrant children who were subject to maltreatment in their custody last year. The complaint includes allegations of painfully cold conditions, denial of medical care, and even physical abuse of the unaccompanied children who were held in CBP facilities. Many of the children were also held longer than 72 hours in CBP custody in violation of the law. According to the complaint, “It is not limited to the conduct of a ‘bad apple’ employee within the agency. It is not limited to even a rogue or remote CBP outpost that lacks training and resources. The sheer number of children who have reported abuse, many of whom told us that they fear retaliation and were afraid to speak up, suggests that these examples are but a fraction of the actual total.”
Last week, Forbes also highlighted a recently published report from the Government Accountability Office, which found that CBP has grossly underreported migrant deaths in recent years. Just in the Tucson sector, 360 deaths went unreported from 2015 to 2019, which more than doubled the official number of deaths from 339 to 699 for those 5 years.
Refugee admissions dropped 12% in April
Refugee data released for April showed a 12% decrease in admissions leading to only 1,984 arrivals. This brought the total number of admissions for this fiscal year to 10,742 – 9% of the admissions ceiling of 125,000. Continuing at this pace, the U.S. will resettle only 18,414 refugees this year, or 15% of the admissions ceiling set by President Biden. The report also shows 105 admissions from Ukraine. This was a sizable increase from the 12 Ukrainians admitted in March, but far below the 20,000 Ukrainians that have alternately arrived along the U.S.-Mexico border since March.