U.S. President Donald Trump said on July 29 that he would likely allow Ukrainians who fled Russia’s full-scale invasion to remain in the United States until the war ends.
“I think we will, yeah, I will,” Trump said when asked by a journalist whether he would allow Ukrainians who fled the war to stay in the country.
“We have a lot of people that came in from Ukraine, and we’re working with them.”
Since the start of the full-scale war in 2022, around 240,000 Ukrainians have entered the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program, a humanitarian parole initiative introduced by former U.S. President Joe Biden.
Trump’s remarks come amid increased scrutiny of U.S. immigration policy as his campaign focuses on cracking down on illegal immigration. His stance has raised alarm among Ukrainian nationals, who feared their legal status could be stripped amid shifting U.S. policy.
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was exploring ways to repatriate refugees using $250 million in foreign aid, including about 200,000 Ukrainians.
In June, the Washington Post also reported on alleged plans to transfer undocumented migrants, including Ukrainians, to the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, a claim the White House dismissed as “fake news.”
The U4U program, launched in April 2022, provided not only legal residence and work authorization but also access to healthcare, food assistance, and other social services. The application process was suspended in January 2025 and has not been reopened.
As of now, the Biden-era protections remain in place for many Ukrainian nationals. Trump’s latest comments signal a likely continuation of those protections, at least temporarily.
The statement also comes as the U.S. president adopts an increasingly favorable stance toward Ukraine after months of rocky relations, greenlighting arms sales and threatening sanctions against Russia.
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