President Trump has said he’ll make a decision soon on whether to revoke the temporary protected status for refugees from Ukraine, which was extended by the outgoing Biden administration to October 2026. There’s a lot of concern in Ohio, with an estimated 1 in 10 Ukrainians in the US on TPS living in northeast Ohio.
Since the start of the war in 2022, Gov. Mike DeWine has said Ukrainian refugees are welcome in Ohio, including holding a summit to help prepare for refugees coming to Ohio in March 2022. He's issued several proclamations supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia for its "unprovoked" invasion, including one last month on the three-year anniversary of the start of the war.
But when asked about the possibility the protected status of Ukrainian refugees will be revoked, DeWine pivoted, praising Trump’s actions on the southern border and saying a significant discussion about legal immigration hasn’t happened for decades.
“And the reason we haven't is because we haven't been able to deal with the illegal immigration problem," DeWine said. "So if you can get control of the southern border, then we can look at what is in the best interest of the United States. Who do we want to come in?”
"We all would hope that the war would end and the people from Ukraine who have come here recently want to go back home," DeWine said. “We've always been a very compassionate country. But what has stopped us and has made it so very, very difficult, I think, is the fact that we have not been able to control that southern border.”
Ohio’s Dave Yost and 17 other Republican attorneys general have asked Trump’s Homeland Security secretary to review the list of TPS countries, saying protected status has been applied too loosely and for too long.
One notable review that's already happened is that of protected status for migrants from Haiti. An extension of that status from the Biden administration till Feb. 3, 2026 was vacated by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and is now set to end on Aug. 3. Thousands of those Haitian immigrants moved to Springfield, and most are working. Trump and Vice President JD Vance targeted Haitian immigrants during the campaign with false, unsubstantiated rumors that they were eating pets. DeWine has pushed back on those untrue statements, and said the economy in Springfield depends on those immigrants.
