Some Ukrainians living in the United States after fleeing Russia's invasion mistakenly received "terse and threatening" email notices this week informing them to leave, according to a report.
The notices told the Ukrainians their provisional legal status were being terminated in a week, The Washington post reported Friday night. They were told to to leave the United States “immediately."
“It is time for you to leave the United States,” the notice said. If they ignored the notice, the letter warned, “The federal government will find you.”
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Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security, confirmed the letters were accidentally sent.
“A message was sent in error to some Ukrainians” who came to the United States under the "Uniting for Ukraine" program, said McLaughlin.
However, the “parole program has not been terminated," she noted.
The letters reportedly left astonished Ukrainian parents and children in tears.
Critics tore into the administration over the flub.
Rabbi James Greene, chief executive of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, which aids immigrants and refugees, called the "letter itself, the language is shameful."
“‘It’s time for you to leave the United States? The federal government will find you?’ That is not who we are," Greene told the Post in an interview.
"Pretty sick--even it is was an 'accident.' The language they sent was horrific," Darren Lenard Hutchinson, law professor at Emory University, wrote on X.
“Telling Ukrainians they have to return to an active war zone in seven days or face criminal prosecution is unconscionable,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) told the Post. “The Trump administration’s incompetence and cruelty continue to astound, and they must be held accountable.”
The report comes as the U.S., Britain, and France accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in ceasefire negotiations. The United States has proposed a 30-day halt in fighting, but Russia has not agreed to the terms. Ukrainian officials and NATO allies have called for a resolution.
