On October 19th, the Temporary Protected Status of over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees is set to expire in the United States, opening the risk of their deportation. This would be a massive insult to the Ukrainian diaspora’s successful integration into American society. The Ukrainian immigrant population in the United States shows significantly higher rates of higher education than other immigrant groups and native-born Americans. Ukrainian Americans have put their education to good use, as they have a civilian labor force participation rate, median income, and poverty rate roughly in line with the rest of the American population. This integration stands out in comparison to other diasporas consisting largely of refugees, such as those from Somalia and Afghanistan, which have some of the worst poverty, usage of welfare including SNAP or Medicaid, and educational attainment rates. Instead of treating all immigrants the same, the White House should evaluate them based on how likely members of their communities are to be economically successful as Americans.
Let Ukrainian Refugees Stay
By Edward Kim
Millions of Ukrainian refugees have fled since 2022 to other Western countries. Wikimedia Commons
Edward Kim
I have been interested in politics ever since the 2016 election, and have always dreamed of becoming a writer and debator!
4 Comments
With all the new and rising topics in politics these days, I feel like the conflict in Ukraine has taken a backseat in the media. This is essentially to say thank you for bringing this topic back up and refreshing it in my own mind. I had not considered that the immigration status of Ukrainians in America might become threatened. Hopefully it does not go down the same road that immigrants and citizens have been facing lately.
I agree that the Ukrainian refugees should get to stay, but only because they are refugees fleeing war and death. I am not sure I agree with the classification or argument, however, that having higher rates of education or income, should be the basis for which we define deserving or undeserving immigrants.
In my view, refugees should be taken in, regardless of income or education, so long as there is no criminal background, the economic cost is justifiable, and the refugees are actually fleeing persecution. Even those who have low-incomes can provide human capital over time, as they grow into the economy or do other jobs.
I completely agree that Ukrainian refugees should be able to maintain their legal status in America while the war rages in Ukraine. It would be cruel to expect them to go back to Ukraine when it’s an active war zone. However, I think it’s important to point out that Ukrainians have seen more success and wealth in America than Afghan or Somali immigrants because there is more access to education and employment opportunities in Ukraine. Ukraine is not an impoverished country like Somalia or Afghanistan; therefore, Ukrainian immigrants tend to come to America with more resources than other refugees. I would argue that it’s more important to protect all refugees than to only protect refugees who are there because of the perceived economic benefits they can provide to the country.
I agree that Ukrainian refugees should be able to stay in the US due to the ongoing war. I agree with Vaibhav that refugees should be taken in regardless of income, education, etc. I, however, do not agree with the notion that refugees and immigrants should only be granted access to the US based off the previously mentioned criteria. People, uneducated or not, poor or not, deserve to seek refuge, in my opinion.