The American Immigration Council together with 177 organizations are requesting an immediate 18-month designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and Special Student Relief (SSR) for Ukraine, publish timely Federal Register Notices, and launch a public information campaign to notify the impacted community of the decision and any actions they must take by the decision’s announcement.
Following Russia’s military invasion in Ukraine, escalating violence has created a humanitarian crisis forcing an untold number of people to flee their homes and making it impossible for Ukrainians living abroad to return safely. The American Immigration Council estimates that there are 34,000 immigrants from Ukraine in the U.S. today who could benefit from temporary humanitarian protections.
Temporary Protected Status—a form of immigration status provided to people of certain countries experiencing temporary conditions that make it difficult or unsafe to return—could be a lifeline to those thousands of Ukrainians already in the United States.