US President Joe Biden agreed to deport refugees from the US to help Ukraine.
The day before, how reported our publication, the vote on a bill to provide $61 billion in aid to Ukraine failed in the US Senate. How writes Reuters, citing a source familiar with the discussion, the administration of US President Joe Biden is ready to tighten immigration policy and accelerate the deportation of refugees in order to get Republicans in Congress to approve aid to Ukraine.
The White House could, among other things, tighten screening standards for asylum, allow refugees to be expelled not just at the border but from across the country, and agree to deny asylum to applicants who arrive through third countries en route to the United States. .
According to the source, senators of both parties who are working on the agreement are discussing introducing a numerical limit on asylum applications. The proposed deal would cut illegal immigration by at least half, but it remains unclear whether it can be agreed upon before Christmas, Republican Senator Thom Tillis told Reuters: “We still have a lot of work to do.”
After the disastrous vote, Biden called the inability to provide aid to Ukraine “absolute madness.” He called “not to let [президенту РФ Владимиру] Putin must win” and not present him with “the most magnificent gift.”
Tightening immigration policy in the United States could also hit Russians, notes moscowtimes. From October 2022 to September 2023, 57,163 Russian citizens crossed the US border to seek asylum. This is a record number in recent years. The rise in the number of asylum seekers began after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, peaking after the Russian mobilization was announced in November and December. During these months, 6,931 and 9,227 refugees crossed the border, respectively.
Most Russian asylum seekers enter the United States through the southern border, arriving from Mexico and taking advantage of visa waivers. Russians most often move here due to ongoing mobilization in Russia, political persecution and disagreement with the authorities’ policy towards Ukraine, the publication notes.
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