Anton Kilpa is an Atlanta-area father, originally from the Ukrainian port-city of Mariupol. He says he is still trying to process the pain that Russia’s military has unleashed on his people. Kilpa’s relatives spent weeks without heat, without water, and without electricity. Acquaintances from school lost their lives, with the city increasingly resembling a wasteland as the Russian siege has dragged out.
“It’s hard. You see, I can’t keep the pain going all day long. So, I’m just trying not to think about it,” he said. “I mean, Mariupol, it’s my childhood. But it’s a place that doesn’t exist anymore… It’s just ruins.”
To add insult to injury, bureaucratic hurdles in the U.S. immigration system have until now prevented Kilpa from bringing his mom to Atlanta to be with him – a situation he’s found “sickening.” But the reunification process could soon be made easier: Starting this week, the Department of Homeland Security will begin accepting applications from U.S.-based individuals like Kilpa to sponsor Ukrainian citizens looking to come to the country. That mechanism for welcoming Ukrainians, dubbed Uniting for Ukraine, represents a roadmap for fulfilling the Biden administration’s resettlement goals. Last month, President Biden had pledged to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians, but had not offered clear guidance on the process.
To qualify, Ukrainians must have been living in Ukraine as of Feb. 11, less than two weeks before the Feb. 24 invasion. They must pass security checks, complete vaccination requirements, and have a U.S. sponsor capable of supporting them financially.
Those approved to travel to the U.S. under this program will be granted humanitarian parole, allowing them to avoid the formal refugee resettlement process, which typically takes years to complete. Although they won’t be able to stay permanently, Ukrainians on parole status will be allowed to live and work in the U.S. for up to two years.
Administration officials indicated that they designed Uniting for Ukraine to be temporary because they believe most Ukrainians are seeking temporary refuge, as opposed to permanent resettlement.
Because there won’t be a path to residency, those who enter the U.S. through the parole program and decide to stay would face legal limbo.
“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,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement.
Until now, Kilpa has been unable to take in his mother, Larysa, in his Atlanta home – despite the family’s best efforts.
Soon after war broke out, Larysa fled to Germany, where she has been able to take shelter in another relative’s Frankfurt apartment. But conditions there aren’t optimal, in part because there are four other refugees sharing the small, two-bedroom space, alongside Larysa and the host.
Hosting her in Atlanta instead, even if just for a couple of months, would be a relief for everyone, Kilpa said. But at an April 7 appointment with U.S. consular authorities in Munich, Larysa had her application for a U.S. tourist visa denied.
The Kilpas knew that Ukrainians were being admitted through ports of entry at the U.S. border with Mexico – even as a Trump era rapid-expulsion policy kept other migrants out. But a potentially physically taxing trip through Mexico was not deemed to be a viable option for Larysa, who is in her sixties and would be traveling alone.
With Uniting for Ukraine launching this week, federal authorities have warned that the Mexican route will close.
Although a DHS official told the AJC that the agency can’t definitively say how long it will take for Ukrainians to arrive to the U.S. through Uniting for Ukraine, there being a program in place after weeks of uncertainty means families like Kilpa’s are one-step closer to reunification
“All I need at this point is for my mom to be allowed to enter the United States,” Kilpa said. “That’s all I’m hoping for.”
‘A huge step forward’
Anna Letkeman, a metro Atlanta realtor, is from Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeastern Ukraine. Last month, the Russian army’s attacks on Zaporizhzhia’s nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, raised concerns about a potentially devastating nuclear incident.
To keep up with the attacks on her hometown, Letkeman has downloaded an app on her phone that alerts her when air-raid sirens are going off in Zaporizhzhia. If the alerts come when it’s late at night in Ukraine, Letkeman calls her relatives, to make sure they’re awake and taking cover.
“I just tell them, ‘Hey, there is an air siren, can you please go take shelter? I love you.’ Every time you make sure you say you love them, because what if it’s the last time?” Letkeman said.
Despite the suffering caused by the invasion, and to Letkeman’s chagrin, her relatives remain largely opposed to fleeing Ukraine and joining her in Atlanta.
“My grandparents said that they were ready to die there on their land.”
Only Letkeman’s mother has entertained the thought of relocating here, but only temporarily. Letkeman says she has firmly stated that, were she to come, it would only be for a couple of months. She’d go home as soon as it was safe to do so.
It’s a perspective in line with the goals of the Uniting for Ukraine program.
“It’s great that [the pledge to welcome refugees] is getting real,” Letkeman said. “I’m so happy [the] U.S. is making such a huge step forward.”
Lautaro Grinspan is a Report for America corps member covering metro Atlanta’s immigrant communities.
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