par Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) – The United States will allow Ukrainians who entered the territory last year via the Mexican border to renew their humanitarian residence permits, which will allow them to continue to receive social benefits such than health insurance and food stamps.
The extension is a victory for human rights advocates who have urged US President Joe Biden’s administration to expand legal pathways for thousands of migrants allowed to enter the country in recent years on the basis of a temporary emergency.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Monday that about 25,000 Ukrainians who sought refuge in the United States via Mexico in early 2022 could now extend their stay. The permit was initially granted to them for one year.
Under pressure, Joe Biden had launched the “Uniting for Ukraine” program in April 2022 to allow the entry by air of Ukrainians sponsored by Americans and to discourage crossing the border .
More than 118,000 Ukrainians have come to the United States under the program on “humanitarian parole” granted for two years that will not expire until 2024 or later, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. social.
Rights advocates hope to secure a similar extension for the approximately 77,000 Afghans who arrived in the United States in 2021 as part of the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Many Afghans could see their humanitarian parole expire later this year.
(Reportage by Ted Hesson in Washington; Version française Kate Entringer)
