Pa. Aid Society Seeks Help for Ukrainian Families

HIAS: American immigration system is ‘overly bureaucratic,’ moves too slowly

By Emily Scott © Public News Service
The Tube City Almanac
March 08, 2022
Posted in: State & Region

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf greets Iryna Mazur, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Philadelphia, during a press conference Monday in Harrisburg. (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania photo)

A Pennsylvania group that helps resettle refugees is asking federal officials to provide more support to people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Cathryn Miller-Wilson, executive director of HIAS Pennsylvania, said Ukrainian refugees already here are worried about their relatives still in the country.

“The family petitions require processing at a U.S. embassy, and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is closed,” said Miller-Wilson. “But, I mean, it will take a long time. The Ukrainian has to successfully flee and then get in touch with their relatives here. The paperwork has to be filed. It’s a very, very long process.”

Pennsylvania has the second-highest Ukrainian population of any U.S. state, with more than 122,000 citizens claiming Ukrainian heritage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last week, the federal Department of Homeland Security said 30,000 Ukrainians temporarily living in the United States can now stay for 18 months under temporary protected status.

Pennsylvania refugee resettlement groups, like HIAS, applauded the decision, but said Ukrainians outside the U.S. need more support as they face invasion from Russia.

Many Ukrainian refugees in the U.S. arrived through the Lautenberg Amendment, which supports the resettlement of religious minorities facing persecution.

The Lautenberg Amendment was an act of Congress in the 1990s that has yet to be reauthorized for 2022.

Miller-Wilson said HIAS Pennsylvania files nearly 150 petitions annually to resettle people through the amendment.

Between the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August, and political and economic crises in Haiti, Miller-Wilson argued that America’s immigration system needs to be reformed to be more agile in emergencies.

“Despite all the rhetoric about the United States, ‘Bring us your tired, your hungry, your poor,’ the truth is, our structures are not responsive,” said Miller-Wilson. “They’re overly bureaucratic. They take forever. And when I say forever, I don’t mean weeks or even months, I mean years.”

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security announced that 76,000 Afghans had been resettled in communities across the country. Finding affordable housing for them remains a challenge for refugee resettlement groups.

Since September, thousands of Haitians seeking asylum have been turned away at the U.S. border due to ongoing pandemic restrictions.

On Monday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said he supports legislation that would allocate up to $2 million in state funding to re-settle Ukrainian refugees.

At a press conference in Harrisburg, Wolf thanked the pension funds that represent state employees and state teachers for divesting any Russian assets in their portfolios.

“The people of Ukraine have shown immense courage and bravery, which should have never been necessary. Pennsylvania stands with Ukraine,” Wolf said. “I will do everything in my power to ​ensure Pennsylvania’s support ​of Ukraine and also sever ties with Russia.”

Emily Scott is a reporter and producer in Philadelphia for Public News Service, where this story first appeared. She previously worked at WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR station and is a 2018 graduate of Temple University and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Jason Togyer, editor of Tube City Almanac, contributed to this report.

Originally published March 08, 2022.

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