Some Relief For Ukrainians Stuck In US After Biden Administration Offers Temporary Legal Status
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Department of Homeland Security will allow Ukrainians who are in the United States to remain in the country under a form of humanitarian relief and that is great news for Ukrainians living in South Florida.
Miss Ukraine Universe 2021, Ilona Neserova, is a U.S. citizen now living in America. She never thought she'd find herself speaking at an anti-war rally but she did on Thursday night in South Florida.
Right now, she was supposed to be far from here, sharing special bonding time with her mom.
"I invited her for a cruise. I said, 'Enough, come to me January through April so we can go on cruise,'" Ilona explained.
She convinced her mom Tatiana to temporarily leave the freezing temperatures of her town near Kyiv for some fun in the sun.
"She says she got shocked when the war broke out, she couldn't believe Putin would attack Ukraine and she's nervous obviously," Tatiana said.
Tatiana's husband, other child and grandchildren are all back home in Ukraine – half a world away.
Tatiana and her daughter feel as helpless as most other Ukrainians now dazed by the fog of war.
"They don't have enough ammunition, they don't have enough helmets, they don't have because so hard to bring it to them. They have to fight the enemy with the screwdrivers," said Ilona.
They're also feeling the anxiety of not knowing when or if mom Tatiana will ever get back to her family.
"Now, she's shocked. She cannot go. My sister is there, my father is there and I don't know how long it's going to last," Ilona explained.
Among all the sadness, a tiny glimmer of hope for Tatiana.
The Biden administration announced Thursday that tens of thousands of Ukrainians living in the U.S. will be granted a temporary humanitarian protection from deportation.
Anna Tumpovskiy, president of the Russian American Bar Association of Florida, is against the war. The native of Siberia is now working to help people stuck here.
"Right now, it is of course relief for many citizens and for many tourists and many people trapped here," she said.
She's relieved but will be more relieved when this war stops – a day Ukrainians say couldn't come fast enough.
About 75,100 people are estimated to be eligible to file applications for TPS under the designation of Ukraine, according to a DHS spokesperson, which is more than double previous estimates. Individuals must have continuously resided in the US since March 1 to be eligible, and the TPS designation will be in place for 18 months.
Ukraine joins a list of 12 countries, like South Sudan and Venezuela, that have also been designated for TPS.