A statement from President and CEO David Duea

April 21, 2022

The announcement today by President Biden offering a lifeline to war-weary Ukrainians is a positive development. It begins to give structure to his pledge last month to admit up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into the United States.

At LCS Northwest, we stand with all displaced people, including Ukrainians and others who are fleeing imminent threats to their families, leading many of them to mass at the U.S.-Mexico border. By granting two-year humanitarian parole status to Ukrainians, the White House has opened a pathway for us to serve some of the world’s desperate people, similar to our work resettling more than 700 Afghans in Washington and Oregon over the past six months.

However, there are many crucial details left up in the air, particularly with regard to funding. Calling on extended families and nonprofit groups to sponsor Ukrainian refugees will only go so far. The cost of housing, transportation and health care – in addition to mental health, legal aid and other specialized services provided by resettlement agencies like ours – is significant.

If U.S. officials want to welcome Ukrainians with the same resolve as they did the Afghan people, it will also require a government financial commitment.  

We look forward to getting more clarity from national leaders in the coming days. Having resettled more than 2,000 Ukrainians in Washington and Oregon over the past five years, LCS Northwest is well equipped for the task at hand. We have recently hired Ukrainian case managers. We are rebuilding our resettlement infrastructure. And we are determined to help meet this moment.

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If you are a member of the media and would like to speak with someone from LCS Northwest, please contact our Director of Communications, Matt Misterek, [email protected], 253.678.9092.