About 101,000 Ukrainians and 1,800 Sudanese in the United States can keep living and working here after the Department of Homeland Security paused a deportation deadline set for Monday, Oct. 19.
The reprieve lands close to home. Oregon has one of the largest Ukrainian communities in the country, with about 20,000 residents reporting Ukrainian ancestry, according to Census Bureau data on the City of Portland's Ukrainian community page. The Ukrainian Foundation, a nonprofit focused on resettlement and humanitarian aid, is headquartered in Beaverton.
DHS did not say how long the protection will last. In a written statement, the department said an announcement "will be made at the appropriate time." U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed that people covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from Ukraine and Sudan "retain protection including work authorization" until a further announcement, according to the agency's posted statement.
Yuri Boyechko, who leads Hope For Ukraine, a nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid and helps resettle newcomers, described the government's move as last-minute patchwork. He told the Associated Press it amounts to a "bandage that has been placed on a wound that does not solve the real issue," as OPB reported. Boyechko said TPS holders cannot safely return to Ukraine and called for a path to permanent residency. TPS does not offer one.
The pause follows a pattern. DHS kept protections in place for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans whose TPS was set to expire Sept. 9, using similar language about deciding "at the appropriate time." The administration has already ended TPS for more than 1 million people from 13 other countries, including Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras and Afghanistan.
Ukraine was first designated for TPS in April 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion. Sudan has held TPS since 1997.
A bipartisan group of 31 senators, including Oregon's Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, urged Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a letter to grant Ukrainians an 18-month extension, Truthout reported. The State Department maintains its highest-level do-not-travel advisory for both Ukraine and Sudan.
Locally, the Sudanese Development Community in Oregon provides services to Sudanese families across the state. The Ukrainian Foundation, based at 11140 SW Partridge Loop in Beaverton, runs health and integration programs for Ukrainian newcomers through the Oregon Health Authority.
DHS has set no deadline for its final decision on either country's TPS status.
