DHS "Accidentally" Sends Deportation Letters of Ukrainian Refugees
The agency reportedly "had no knowledge" of the incident and confirmed that the status of U4U refugees has not changed.
Many United for Ukraine (U4U) refugees awoke the morning of April 4th to a threatening email from Customs & Border Protection (CBP), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The threatening language in the email sent recipients into a panic.
If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions.... Again, DHS is terminating your parole. Do not attempt to remain in the United States - the federal government will find you.
In despair, recipients reached out to American friends and sponsors, who immediately picked up on the bizarre wording of the email as suspect.
The Department sent many an additional email Friday evening stating that the original email had been sent "in error," and that their parole status has not changed.
One refugee told UOJ-America, on condition of anonymity, "it has been an emotional roller coaster."
Their translator further added:
"Imagine being told you have seven days to leave the country, or the Federal Government will find and prosecute you. [The author] probably hoped they would just quietly flee the country."
The unprofessional tone of the email and the Department's redaction and claim of not having known it was sent raises serious questions:
Who sent the email, and why?
That many who received the email were not refugees fleeing the war, but those who applied as a result of state persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church raising another question: does the person who sent the email have ties to the Security Services of Ukraine (SBU)? Was this a ploy to lure certain people back for prosecution?
What we do know is that the United States Congress needs to launch an immediate investigation to answer these questions.
