Background

In February of 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, a continuation of Russian expansion that began with their annexation of Crimea in 2014. The invasion was not localized—like the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula—and Ukrainians were forced to leave the country on a large scale (8.1 million fled as of March 2023) in order to escape the Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities. In response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, multiple countries have admitted Ukrainian refugees, including the US. In addition, the UN estimates that 17.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance as a direct result from the war.

The Biden Administration announced its plan to help Ukrainian refugees on April 21, 2022, two months after war broke out. The plan, “Unite for Ukraine,” involves US citizens who volunteer to sponsor and host Ukrainian refugees. Unite for Ukraine grants Ukrainian refugees an expedited immigration process and makes government assistance available to them while on parole. This program is set to last for two years. Through Unite for Ukraine, the Biden administration promised to admit 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, a mark reached in five months after the program’s launch.

The US response to Ukrainian refugees was unprecedented in recent history. The United States played a major role in establishing the international refugee system after World War II and admitted vast numbers of refugees, especially from Vietnam, Soviet states, and Kosovo. However, since the early 2000s the US had pursued a more restrictive refugee policy. The current response to the refugee crisis is significant, both because the US mobilized to quickly accept a large number of refugees, and because this response includes generous humanitarian aid to those displaced. The White House announced, “we are prepared to provide more than $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine and its severe impacts around the world, including a marked rise in food insecurity, over the coming months. This funding will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance.”

Policy as a Success

Many view the program as a success of public-private partnerships, because it reached the stated goal of resettling 100,000 refugees so quickly. The supply of US citizens volunteering to host Ukrainian refugees outstripped demand, demonstrating the support and enthusiasm of US citizens. Additionally, the Cato Institute argues that the policy empowered ordinary US citizens  because it largely removed the government from the refugee policy. The Cato Institute further argues that this policy should be a model for US refugee resettlement. Unite for Ukraine has limited bureaucracy and the form to apply to host a Ukrainian refugee is on one website, making the process easy for those willing to host.

In the usual regular refugee resettlement system, displaced people register with the United Nations and are screened and vetted for security risks. The President decides on an annual refugee cap, and the UNHCR works with nine national nonprofit organizations in the US to resettle the agreed-upon number of refugees across the country based on factors such as medical needs, local support (i.e. family or community in the area), and linguistic resources. Refugees are put on a path to qualify for permanent residence in the US. The entire process, from registering with the UN to reaching the US, takes on average two years. In contrast, Unite for Ukraine moved more quickly.

Policy as Weakness

Some criticize the Biden Administration’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis as too slow. The plan was announced two months after war broke out. Some Ukrainians attempted to reach the US before the plan was announced via the border with Mexico. They now must go through the regular US immigration process rather than Unite for Ukraine because there is no provision in the policy to allow for Ukrainian resettlement from ports of entry. Some argue the response to Ukrainian refugees is hypocritical, when displaced people from Central and Latin America are not given the same treatment. At Unite for Ukraine was announced, the US-Mexico border was closed to asylum seekers due to Title 42. Similarly, the US has not mobilized to take in displaced people from other countries, like Venezuela, Sudan, and Afghanistan. One anonymous Democratic aide stated, “You see the president really highlighting how many refugees Poland has taken, and then on the same day, there’s a rollout to very actively reduce the number of people who can even access our asylum system.”

In addition, the two year duration of the program has been met with some critique. The future of Ukrainian refugees resettled to the US through Unite for Ukraine is unknown. As a result, some companies are hesitant to hire refugees, which makes it difficult to find employment. In addition, Ukrainians qualify for one year of government assistance, which some also believe is too short when accounting for the numerous challenges refugees face when finding their feet in a foreign country.

The Future

As the war in Ukraine continues, the Biden Administration will need to make hard decisions about the future of the Ukrainian refugee program. Current provisions have a two year expiration, and the debate continues over whether the US should take in more Ukrainian refugees or focus on displaced people from other conflicts.