Deportations of Ukrainians from the United States. What You Shouldn't Do if You Want to Remain in America

Since 2017, I've been working as an expert with US immigration attorneys. For the past two years, I've been providing expert opinions on cases involving Ukrainians whom the Trump administration plans to return to Ukraine. I work as an expert, including testifying in court. There are many such cases, and the judicial pipeline is becoming increasingly active. Court hearings are often held via videoconference. The judge might be in Texas, the prosecutor in Idaho, the lawyer in Michigan, and the expert in Ukraine. People are being deported: men and women; those who entered the United States legally and those who arrived illegally. Ukrainian citizens and people who have already lost their Ukrainian citizenship are being deported to Ukraine (usually through Poland).

I see the mistakes people make when they want to protect their rights and continue living in the United States.

What doesn't work:

"I don't want to fight in the war, so I can't be deported." War in one's homeland is not grounds for allowing someone to live in the United States.

"I've lived in the United States for a long time; I have no ties to my former homeland." Sometimes such a person has a Ukrainian passport but no longer holds Ukrainian citizenship (a separate issue). But even in this case, they are deported from the United States.

"My native language is Russian, and I am discriminated against in Ukraine." A sideways glance or a demand to speak the state language are not enough for the authorities to allow a person to remain in the United States.

The main problem: "I don't have enough money to pay a lawyer and an expert. I will defend myself. The judge will see my elderly mother and take pity on us." That won't happen. Even the kindest immigration judge (and there are few of them) requires evidence in accordance with the law. I once listened to an audio recording of a court case in which a family decided to defend their interests in remaining in the United States on their own. The people simply didn't understand what the court wanted from them. In that case, the people were very lucky; they were given the chance to find a lawyer and present their evidence again. In other words, they still had to spend money on a lawyer.

Among Ukrainian citizens who are at high risk in the United States, there's a special group. These are people accused of crimes by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and are seeking their extradition. Among them are those persecuted in their home country for political reasons. But this must be proven in a U.S. court, and that's not easy.