Trump's deportation plan targets 200,000 Ukrainians
The Donald Trump administration plans to use foreign aid funds to finance voluntary deportations, which could affect 200,000 Ukrainians.
President Donald Trump's administration has developed a plan to use $250 million from the foreign aid fund for a voluntary deportation program from the United States.
According to The Washington Post, this program could include, among others, 200,000 Ukrainians and 500,000 Haitians.
Who might be covered by the program?
The plan stipulates that people who fled regions affected by conflicts will be able to voluntarily return to their countries. Potential participants in the program include not only Ukrainians and Haitians but also Afghans, Palestinians, Libyans, Sudanese, Syrians, and Yemenis.
The US Department of Homeland Security announced that immigrants residing in the country without proper permits might receive about $1,000 if they apply through a special app and voluntarily leave the United States. The department claims that this solution will reduce deportation costs, which currently average about $17,000 per person.
Controversies surrounding the plan
The Trump administration's proposal is controversial because it bypasses the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which does not support returns to conflict-affected countries. Critics believe that encouraging people to return to dangerous places is inhumane and may constitute misuse of funds intended for foreign aid.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin described the documents regarding the plan as "outdated" and added that no final decision has been made yet regarding the protective status for Ukrainians and Haitians.
Reactions and actions
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department reached an agreement regarding the program; however, specific nationalities were not mentioned in it. On Monday at 7:00 PM ET, US authorities sent the first 64 people to Honduras and Colombia as part of the voluntary deportation program.
The voluntary deportation plan is part of President Trump's broader campaign against illegal immigration. As part of this campaign, the US administration also sent hundreds of foreigners to a detention centre in El Salvador, citing 18th-century war regulations.
