U.S. admits Ukrainians at the border, but blocks entry to Russians

As a group of Ukrainian refugees was escorted through the U.S.-Mexico border last week, around three dozen Russian asylum seekers were prevented from entering the country, reported The Associated Press.

The news comes as hundreds of Ukrainians and Russians are making their way to Mexico’s border cities, such as Tijuana, and attempting to cross the U.S. border to seek asylum.

Around 34 Russians have been camping in the border city of Tijuana, despite Mexican officials urging them to leave.

“It’s very hard to understand how they make decisions,” said Irina Zolinka, a 40-year-old Russian woman camping in Tijuana after some Russians were admitted into the U.S. a few days earlier.

Since last week, the U.S. has been allowing Ukrainians who are fleeing the war to enter the country under “humanitarian parole,” which allows them to stay in the country for one year without being deported.

“The Department of Homeland Security recognizes that the unjustified Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has created a humanitarian crisis,” wrote the Homeland Security Department in a statement that was publicly released last Thursday.

Ukrainians are also exempt from the country’s asylum limits that were put in place since the start of the pandemic, the statement continues.

“CBP is authorized, consistent with the Title 42 Order, on a case-by-case basis based on the totality of the circumstances, including considerations of humanitarian interests, to except Ukrainian nationals at land border ports of entry from Title 42.”

The “humanitarian parole” does not apply to Russians.

The number of Ukrainians entering the U.S. through the Mexico border has increased by almost 35 times, from 45 Ukrainians who entered from September to February of 2021 to 1,500 for the same period of 2022.

Russian asylum seekers also increased by almost 30 percent. From September to February of 2021, around 288 Russians crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, compared to 8,600 this year.