Local Ukrainian refugees left worrying about future after Federal Government suspended program
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– Vlad Horbachov, Olena Kharkiv, and their daughter are three of nearly 200,000 Ukrainians who escaped war and made their way to the US through the Biden Administration’s ‘Uniting for Ukraine’ (U4U) program, which was suspended by executive order earlier this year. But Horbachov and Kharkiv say their fears of being forced out of the country and their new lives are growing as their time with the refugee program runs out.
Horbachov and Kharkiv met in Poland after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The couple married in the Czech Republic, then the family made the long trip to Pocatello, where they have lived under refugee status through the U4U program for the past year.
“We came to the United States together after two years because it’s many reasons why, but the thing is that our government is trying to bring men back to the war,” said Horbachov. “That’s why I decided for our child and for family to find a better [safer] place on this earth.”
The couple started their businesses, continuing the work they did in their home country. Horbachov owns and operates ‘Pocatello Sharpening‘, a knife and industrial equipment sharpening service; Kharkiv works as a nail technician at her salon, ‘Kharkiv Beauty‘.
Horbachov and Kharkiv both said anxiety among Ukrainian refugees is growing since the suspension of the U4U program. They now worry about losing all they’ve built.
“I am working hard, I started building this business, and I know that I have just one more year to be here legally,” said Kharkiv. “…After one year, it’s just two ways: Just to close all of these things and say bye to my clients and move, and nobody knows where to move. If we move to Ukraine, nobody wants to do that because of the war, because of all of the death, so we don’t know what to do next.”
The U4U program allows Ukrainians to stay in the US for two years on ‘humanitarian parole’. After two years, refugees can apply for ‘re-parole’ to potentially extend their time in the states.
Earlier this year, however, the Trump Administration suspended U4U, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services are no longer accepting applications for re-parole of Ukrainians already in the US.
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, refugees will be considered for re-parole moving forward on a case-by-case basis only.
If the Federal Government doesn’t make changes soon, Horbachev says he’s worried he and his family may find themselves displaced again.
“We need the government to continue our work permits and legal status… It’s about 400,000 Ukrainians in the United States, and all of us need to stop this work and go back,” said Horbachev. “The problem is that we don’t know where to go back, because it’s still war.”