Ukrainians who fled the war in their country and sought refuge in America have been worrying whether they’ll be allowed to stay in the country ever since Donald Trump was elected president. And Trump’s comments Thursday about making a decision soon regarding the Ukrainians’ legal status here has heightened their fears.
Svetlana Kravets said the worst part is not knowing what the future will bring.
“Because of the uncertainty,” she said. “They don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.”
Kravets is a first-generation Ukrainian-American whose family came to the United States in the 1990s, and to Delta Junction about 25 years ago. She now works with Catholic Social Services, helping a new cohort of 200 Ukrainians find refuge in Delta, North Pole and Fairbanks.
She said most of them want to start a new life here, but due to uncertainty they're just trying to cope, one day at a time.
“I mean, you can probably imagine you go to a different country, to a different place, and you work there and you live there and you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring,” Kravets said. “So, a lot of people are thinking: Can we buy land and build? Can we buy a house? We can't. We don't know what's going to happen.”
On Thursday, Trump heightened their anxiety when he said he’s considering revoking authority granted by the Biden administration that allowed nearly a quarter of a million Ukrainians to stay in the United States.
“I’m looking at that,” the president said during a media availability. “There are some people that think that’s appropriate, and some people don’t. And I’ll be making a decision pretty soon.”
The Reuters news agency, which reported Trump’s comments, said spokespersons for the White House and Department of Homeland Security later said no decision has been made yet and that the agency had no new announcements.
Worst-case scenario
Kravets said last week that worst-case scenario is what the Ukrainian newcomers are dreading.
“Trump might revoke the TPS or the UHP for them,” she said, “and they'd have to go back.”
Those acronyms refer to Temporary Protected Status and Ukrainian Humanitarian Parole — two of the programs that authorize the newcomers to live in the United States. About 2,000 of them are in Alaska, according to Catholic Social Services State Refugee Coordinator Issa Spatrisano. She said her organization serves about 750 of them under Uniting for Ukraine, part of the Ukrainian Humanitarian Parole program — which the Trump administration has suspended.
“For individuals that are here, that’ve arrived with Uniting for Ukraine, they’re on humanitarian parole status,” Spatrisano said. “There is concern around them, and their long-term ability to stay.”
She said all the newcomers, including those staying here under other relief programs, share the uncertainty over their future.
“Some of these Ukrainians have been in our state for the last three years,” she added, “and they've got jobs and they have community and some of them were looking at going back to the university or looking at buying homes or other things. And so there's a real hesitancy to move forward with those sorts of laying down your roots if you're not sure what your future holds.”
Spatrisano said most of the newcomers are working and supporting their families. But there’s concern that the Trump administration may revoke their authorization to work. And she said thinking about the war-torn country they’d be sent back to elevates that concern.
'We're just keeping our fingers crossed'
“Ukraine is still a war zone,” she said, “And for many people, returning home would be returning home to nothing. Potentially, the places where they lived have been bombed, destroyed, their school's gone — their home's gone.”
Ukrainian newcomers in Delta declined to comment for this story. Spatrisano said it’s not surprising that they want to keep a low profile, to avoid making things worse for them.
“I think people can understand that feeling,” she said. “That’s certainly a feeling that the Ukrainian community is having right now.”
Kravets said a couple of families that were living in Delta have returned to Ukraine, and so have an unknown number of young men who’ve gone back to help defend against Russian invaders. She said those who remain are trying to deal with their worries by focusing on their families and their jobs, and they’re calling on a higher power for comfort.
“We're just keeping our fingers crossed,” she said. “And people are praying, so God gives them wisdom, and it all works out for the good.”
Copyright 2025 KUAC