Brian Fitzpatrick leads letter urging Trump’s DHS secretary to extend protected status for Ukrainians
The Bucks County Republican called for the Trump administration to extend TPS for immigrants fleeing the war in Ukraine. His district is home to thousands of people of Ukrainian heritage.
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in a letter asking Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to extend and expand Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine ahead of its expiration this fall.
The government status allows immigrants to live and work in the United States if conditions are unsafe in their home countries. For Ukraine, which has been in a war waged by Russia for nearly five years, TPS is set to expire on Oct. 19.
“More than 250,000 Ukrainians have sought safety in the United States after fleeing Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion,” lawmakers wrote in the Aug. 4 letter. “These individuals have become valued members of our communities, contributing to our economy, workforce, and tax base while complying with U.S. laws and rebuilding their lives in temporary safety.”
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia) was also one of the 27 lawmakers to sign onto the letter, but only three other Republicans joined Fitzpatrick’s effort.
President Donald Trump’s administration let TPS expire for Haiti and Syria late last month and has promised to deport individuals who lose their legal status, and Ukrainians who have fled the war and live and work in the U.S. under TPS could be facing a similar fate this fall if the designation expires.
Ukraine has become a defining issue for Fitzpatrick, who represents all of Bucks County, which is home to more than 12,000 people from Ukraine or of Ukrainian heritage. And it’s become one of the areas where the moderate, who is running for reelection in the crucial Pennsylvania swing seat against Democratic challenger Bob Harvie, has frequently strayed from Trump.
In a statement to The Inquirer Thursday, Casey-Lee Waldron, a spokesperson for Fitzpatrick — who is a co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and was stationed in the country as an FBI agent in 2015 — said the lawmaker “urges the Secretary to act without delay.”
“Putin’s brutal unprovoked war continues to destroy communities, endanger innocent lives, and make any safe return impossible for Ukrainian families,” Waldron said.
For Haiti, Syria, and next month’s expiration for El Salvador, Fitzpatrick’s position appears to be more nuanced.
Waldron said that Fitzpatrick believes “upholding the rule of law and acting with compassion are not competing obligations,” and that TPS status for the three countries should be independently evaluated.
“And where the standard established by Congress continues to be met and a safe return remains impossible, those protections should remain in place,” Waldron said.
Last year, the Bucks County Republican, without naming the president, slammed Trump’s lambast of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Fitzpatrick also visited the country and met with Zelensky and soldiers on the front lines, and signed a missile to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
His support for Ukraine continued this week with the letter to Mullin which argues that Ukraine continues to meet the statutory benchmarks for qualifying for a TPS designation. In addition to extending the Oct. 19 deadline, lawmakers are also calling on the DHS secretary to redesignate TPS status for Ukraine, meaning it would reset the country’s eligibility cutoff date, allowing more immigrants to apply for the protection.
“Without both an extension and redesignation, many Ukrainians lawfully residing in the United States could be forced to return to a country where their lives and safety remain at serious risk,” lawmakers wrote.
Staff Writer Jeff Gammage contributed reporting to this story.
