Northeast Ohioans prepare to support Ukrainian refugees

Governor Mike DeWine is leading a summit in Parma Thursday to prepare for the possibility of Ukrainian refugees coming to Ohio.

Parma is home to some 4,000 Ukrainians, and many are wondering how to help their countrymen fleeing a bloody Russian invasion.

People like Lidia Trempe, owner of Rudy’s Strudel & Bakery in Parma. She’s of Ukrainian Polish descent, and 10 of her employees are Ukrainian.

Ten of the employees at Rudy's Strudel Shop are Ukrainian. [Jenny Hamel /  Ideastream Public Media]

Nowadays, in addition to being a busy business owner, she finds herself moved to act by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, its human toll and the refugee crisis it’s creating.

“This is a page out of World War II history,” Trempe said. “I mean, my parents were displaced. You know, my father would have probably loved to have lived in Ukraine but had to flee when he was 14. Never saw his mother ever again.”

Trempe’s in regular communication with her cousins who evacuated from their homes in Ukraine, including a pregnant cousin who’s now in Poland. She says they watch in horror as bombs fall on civilian targets.

“We need to learn here in the United States and here in all of our communities how we can help,” she said, “because, obviously, nobody's doing much to help them over there. So we have to do something now to help them here.”

Trempe isn’t alone. Parma is home to a robust Ukrainian community, many wondering what they can do to help and how the community can open its arms to Ukrainians fleeing the attacks.

Trempe plans to watch Gov. Mike DeWine’s summit in Parma on preparing to host Ukrainian refugees. Groups like the Cleveland chapter of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants will be there.

So, the question is, can we expect a large influx of Ukrainians into the U.S. and Northeast Ohio anytime soon?

According to David Leopold, the answer is not yet. Leopold specializes in immigration issues at the Cleveland law firm Ulmer & Berne. He says first, the Biden administration has to grant refugee status to Ukrainians fleeing the war.

“So right now, the reality is that, you know, despite the rhetoric, we have not seen any real movement from the administration to open up the country to Ukrainian refugees,” Leopold said. “I have not seen anything which tells me that they're going to be receiving refugees in any great numbers at all.”

That could change, but for now Leopold says the only real movement has been around granting temporary protected status to Ukrainians who were already in the U.S. before March 1. That’s about 17,000 people.

And Leopold says there are other options like student visas and family-based immigration.

“So Ukrainian first-degree relatives here may be in a position to sponsor family. Anybody who is an immediate relative can process, I would say relatively quickly, when I say quickly, I’m talking immigration speak, which means months,” he said.

Meanwhile, local organizations and agencies are scrambling to provide aid to Ukrainians abroad.

Global Cleveland is working to connect the local health care community with the Ukrainian community, says Global Cleveland President Joe Cimperman.

“And now medical supplies are being flown to Poland. So the people in the refugee camps that are making it over the border have medical care,” Cimperman said. “Different refugee organizations that are wonderful and amazing in Cleveland aren't necessarily connected to the Ukrainian community. Well, we're able to say, ‘Hey so-and-so, do you know so-and-so? Can you guys get connected?’”

In addition, attorneys on the Global Cleveland board, including David Leopold, have been fielding questions from within the United States and abroad about immigrating to the U.S., Cimperman said.

And individuals like Lidia Trempe at Rudy’s Strudel & Bakery are doing what they can to support Ukraine.

Trempe held a fundraiser Saturday, and raised $10,000 for the PLAST Ukrainian Scouting Organization. The money will provide medical and humanitarian aid to Ukrainian soldiers, their families, and military widows and orphans.

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