WASHINGTON: The Biden administration will allow Ukrainians who entered the United States last year at the Mexico border to renew their humanitarian status, giving them continued access to government benefits like health insurance and food stamps.
The extension is a victory for advocates who have urged the administration of US President Joe Biden to expand legal pathways for thousands of migrants from a select group of countries who have been allowed to enter the country in recent years on a temporary emergency basis.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Monday that about 25,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict in Ukraine and sought refuge in the United States via Mexico in early 2022 can now extend their stay beyond the one-year permit they were initially granted. Many showed up at the US-Mexico border because they had few other avenues to reach the United States.
In April of last year, under pressure to accept more refugees, Biden launched the “Uniting for Ukraine” program to allow the entry of Ukrainians with US sponsors via air and discourage border crossings. More than 118,000 Ukrainians have come to the United States through that program with two-year grants of “humanitarian parole” that will not expire until 2024 or later, according to DHS.
Immigrant advocates hope to secure a similar extension for an estimated 77,000 Afghans who arrived in the United States in 2021 as part of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Many Afghans could see their humanitarian parole expire later this year.
Meredith Owen, director of policy and advocacy at Church World Service, a refugee resettlement group, called for Afghans to receive a similar extension, calling it “long past due.”
US to extend humanitarian stay for Ukrainians who entered via Mexico border
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US to extend humanitarian stay for Ukrainians who entered via Mexico border
- Immigrant advocates hope to secure a similar extension for an around 77,000 Afghans who arrived in the US in 2021 after military withdrawal from Afghanistan
Authorities investigating damage to undersea telecom cable in Gulf of Finland
HELSINKI: Authorities are investigating damage to an undersea telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland early Wednesday that occurred between the capitals of Finland and Estonia.
Finnish authorities seized and inspected the vessel suspected to have caused the damage, the country’s border guard said in a statement. Its anchor was lowered when it was discovered in Finland’s exclusive economic zone.
Helsinki police have opened an investigation into aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage and aggravated interference with telecommunications.
The cable belongs to Finnish telecommunications service provider Elisa and is considered to be critical underwater infrastructure. The damage occurred in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone, police said.
The ship’s crew of 14 — hailing from Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan — was detained by Finnish authorities, local media reported. The ship, named the Fitburg, was flagged in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It had been traveling from Russia to Israel.
Finnish National Police Commissioner Ilkka Koskimäki told local media that investigators are not speculating on whether a state-level actor was behind the damage. Koskimäki also said the ship had been dragging its anchor for hours.
“Finland is prepared for security challenges of various kinds, and we respond to them as necessary,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrote on social platform X.
The undersea cables and pipelines that crisscross one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries. They promote trade and energy security and, in some cases, reduce dependence on Russian energy resources.
Earlier this year, Finnish authorities charged the captain and two senior officers of a Russia-linked vessel that damaged undersea cables between Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day in 2024.
The Finnish deputy prosecutor general said in a statement in August that charges of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications were filed against the captain and first and second officers of the Eagle S oil tanker. Their names were not made public. The statement said they denied the allegations.
The Kremlin previously denied involvement in damaging the infrastructure, which provides power and communication for thousands of Europeans.
The Eagle S was flagged in the Cook Islands but had been described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union’s executive commission as part of Russia’s shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.
For the West, such incidents are believed to be part of widespread sabotage attacks in Europe allegedly linked to Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile, Estonian authorities are cooperating with the Finns to decide whether they should initiate a separate criminal case or move forward in a joint prosecution in the Elisa case. The telecom provider said its service was not affected by the damage.
Another undersea cable, owned by Swedish telecommunications service provider Arelion, was also damaged early Wednesday, according to Estonian officials. It was not immediately clear whether the Arelion cable’s damage was linked to the Elisa’s.
Martin Sjögren, an Arelion spokesperson, confirmed Wednesday’s cable damage in the Gulf of Finland. He said another cable, this one between Sweden and Estonia in the Baltic Sea, was damaged on Tuesday.
“We are actively working with authorities in Sweden and other countries to investigate the cause of the cuts,” Sjögren said in an email. “We cannot disclose any details about exact times or locations at this point with regard to the ongoing investigation.”
Repair work is expected to begin as soon as poor weather conditions clear. He said the vast majority of the company’s customers were unaffected by the damage.
