Ukrainian refugees make dash into US before Biden midnight deadline
Scramble to get in: Thousands of Ukrainian refugees make last minute dash to cross the border into US before Biden’s midnight deadline to shut down the informal route from Mexico
- Refugees try to reach US before Biden administration forces fleeing Ukrainians to apply online with a sponsor
- Tijuana border crossing was the site of up to 6,000 foreign nationals hoping to reach America Sunday night
- But at midnight DC time – 9pm in Tijuana – foot crossings were stopped and ‘Uniting for Ukraine’ rules came in
- That means ‘streamlined’ applications for many – but hundreds stranded and forced to sleep at local church
- Ukrainian refugees had been exempt from Trump’s Title 42 border restriction against Covid, but no longer
- Nearly 15,000 undocumented Ukrainians have entered the US since the Russian invasion, mostly via Mexico
- Title 42 will be raised on May 23, but 21 states including Florida are suing the Biden administration to extend it
Thousands of Ukrainian refugees made a last ditch effort to enter the United States from Mexico before new White House rules banned border crossings by foot.
Crowds of people fleeing the war-torn nation rushed to the San Ysidro pedestrian crossing in Tijuana last night as the Biden administration reintroduced Title 42, halting entries to the US without prior application.
Up to 6,000 foreign nationals amassed as the deadline neared, the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) said.
One group of fifty refugees unable to make the crossing before midnight were taken to shelter in a local church.
Desperate refugees from Ukraine argued with Mexican officials on the Tijuana border in the run-up to the midnight deadline
A young boy waits while his family seek entry to the US as the April 25 cut-off neared. Title 42, which prevents foot crossings over the border on the grounds of public health, came into place for Ukrainian refugees at 9pm Tijuana time.
Around 15,000 undocumented Ukrainians have so far entered the US since the start of the Russian invasion two months ago, the DHS added.
Most have entered the US via border crossings at Tijuana, near San Diego, and Reynosa, near Hidalgo, Texas.
The total number of refugees who have fled Ukraine over the last two months is over five million, the UN reported.
Late last night the final buses carrying refugees arrived at the border just after 8pm.
One hour later – midnight DC time – Biden’s ‘Uniting for Ukraine’ policy came into effect.
Nervous refugees, many with children, approached the San Ysidro pedestrian crossing late on Sunday, April 24. Some who were turned away by Homeland Security officers were taken for immediate processing in the hope of an overnight crossing
Many of the estimated 6,000 foreign nationals who approached the Tijuana border crossing last night were Ukrainian refugees wielding their nation’s flag
The initiative, only announced Thursday, plans to sanction 100,000 Ukrainian arrivals over the coming months.
But crucially, it ends Ukrainian refugees’ exemption from Title 42, President Trump’s controversial border policy banning all entries to the United States by foot.
First introduced as a public health measure, Title 42 was intended to contain the spread of Covid by restricting arrivals from outside the US.
Hundreds of young children accompanied parents at the San Ysidro pedestrian crossing (pictured) as the deadline neared
The same family react to news late last night that they would not be accepted into the US before Monday as Title 42 returned
Volunteers in Tijuana had told DailyMail.com earlier Sunday: ‘There’s going to be a lot of crying and sad faces, because many people won’t cross.’
Co-Founder of United For Ukraine Anastasia Bolo told DailyMail.com that the last bus for the border will leave at 8pm, and that refugees flying into the city later in the day will likely end up stuck in Mexico.
‘Of course everybody is upset because people bought tickets in advance,’ she said.
Refugee transport buses took Ukrainian migrants from Tijuana International Airport to the pedestrian border crossing
This Ukrainian family, who stood in line with foreign nationals, had hoped to cross into the US before online applications and a US-based sponsorship requirement came into place
Biden will lift Title 42 on May 23, legalizing foot crossings to the US once again.
But 21 states including Arizona, Florida and Ohio are suing the federal government with the hope of extending Title 42.
They claim an end to the policy at this time is ‘reckless’.
Mothers carry bags and watch their young children as they waited for news at the San Ysidro border late Sunday night, Apr. 24
A Mexican border police officer spoke to colleagues as he stood by a volunteer bus taking refugees to the border crossing
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said last week: ‘Ending Title 42 would be a disaster and further the chaos at the southwest border that is making it easier for drug cartels and human smugglers to advance their illicit practices in our country.’
What is Title 42?
Title 42 was enacted by President Trump in March 2020 as Covid surged.
Named after a 1944 health law, the policy allows border patrol agents to deny entry to migrants without considering their asylum claims if they have been in a country with a communicable disease, such as Covid.
It has been used more than 1.7million times during Trump and Biden’s presidencies, with its continuation under Biden infuriating left-wing Democrats.
The policy was again lambasted by top Democrats when it emerged Ukrainian refugees fleeing their war-torn country were being turned away, despite Biden’s promise to welcome them ‘with open arms’.
Under the new ‘Uniting for Ukraine’ policy which came into place at midnight April 25, Ukrainian refugees’ exemption from Title 42 is over.
The White House plans to integrate 100,000 undocumented Ukrainians over the next few months – but they must apply online and have a US sponsor who can help them financially.
Title 42 is set to lift on May 23. But 21 states are suing the federal government in an attempt to keep it in place and prevent ‘chaos on the border’.
Meanwhile Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema is leading a bipartisan group in the upper house set to propose legislation to prevent Title 42’s lifting.
Since Biden took office, Customs and Border Protection has apprehended more than 2.4 million migrants crossing the southern border.
Some estimates predict that the current 8,000 migrants crossing each day could rise to 18,000 once Title 42 is lifted.
Others warned that there are already hundreds of thousands of migrants within days of the border ready to cross once the policy is no longer being enforced.
The temporary health order has been used to deport or turn away with consideration 1.7million migrants since its introduction in March 2020.
Last mosaw a record 221,203 apprehensions by CBP, the highest in decades. It exceeded the previous high of 213,593 in July 2021.
Refugees hoping to gain asylum under ‘Uniting for Ukraine’ must have been in Ukraine as of February 11, have a US-based sponsor family or organization, meet vaccination and other health requirements, and pass government background checks.
Typically, people would start applications in their home country, but that’s no longer possible since the US pulled its diplomats from Ukraine.
The State Department said it will expand resettlement operations throughout Eastern Europe to compensate.
Most of those admitted will receive two years of residence and authorization to work in the United States under what´s known as humanitarian parole.
Those coming to the US through the traditional refugee process, including members of religious minority groups, will receive permanent legal residency.
One downside of the new effort is that humanitarian parole generally does not include temporary housing support and other benefits provided through the traditional refugee program.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service president Krish O´Mara Vignarajah said the formal refugee system is slowly recovering from Trump-era cutbacks.
Ms Vignarajah told DailyMail.com that ‘Uniting for Ukraine’ is still a step forward: ‘Families desperately seeking to bring their loved ones directly to safety in the US have a glimmer of hope, where there once was exceedingly little.’
Announcing the policy, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement: ‘We are proud to deliver on President Biden´s commitment to welcome 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression to the United States.
‘The Ukrainian people continue to suffer immense tragedy and loss as a result of Putin´s unprovoked and unjustified attack on their country.’
Democrat chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez told POLITICO: ‘I will continue to call on the administration to restore full access to our asylum laws at the southern border, where too many Black and Brown migrants in our hemisphere have been denied the opportunity to seek humanitarian protection in the United States.’
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