Ukrainians fleeing war praise ‘generosity’ of Idaho host families

In March, Irina Molebnya said, she had trouble eating and sleeping. Air raid sirens went off day and night, and Russian warplanes flew low over Oleksandriya, a city in central Ukraine.

Molebnya’s children were attending school online, and each time a siren went off, classes were suspended and families were told to take cover, she said.

Leaving was a difficult decision, and no one in Molebnya’s immediate family had ever been out of the country. But Russia’s invasion and offensives in Ukraine left little choice, so the family — Irina, husband Vladimir Molebnyi, and four children ages 4 to 11 — packed up what belongings they could and spent their savings on a trip to the United States. (Some Ukrainian couples have different surnames that reflect their gender.)

By mid-April, the family was living in Kuna, being hosted by an American family as they look to build a life in the U.S. while war rages in their homeland.

“We are overwhelmed by the kindness and the generosity of the community,” Vladimir told the Idaho Statesman, as translated by Alla Podnebesnyy, who is hosting the family and interpreted an interview. Podnebesnyy said she joined a Facebook group supporting Ukrainians and offered her home to arriving families.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, between 150 and 200 Ukrainians have come to the Treasure Valley, according to Tina Polishchuk, who started a group called the Idaho Alliance for Ukrainian Refugees and Immigrants. The conflict has pushed 5.6 million Ukrainians to leave their homes, according to groups tracking the war.

Until recently, most Ukrainians arriving in the U.S. during the conflict have first gone to Mexico, which does not have a visa requirement for Ukrainians, Matt Soerens told the Statesman. Soerens is U.S. director of church mobilization and advocacy for World Relief, a Christian refugee resettlement organization.

Upon reaching the U.S. border, those Ukrainians then seek a status known as humanitarian parole, which allows those in urgent need to temporarily seek safety in the country.

In March, the Molebnyi family crossed the Ukrainian border into Poland before taking a train to Germany, where they were supplied housing by various church groups, family members said. From there, they flew to Portugal and then to Mexico, where they crossed the U.S. border into San Diego. A member of God Will Provide, a Meridian church, picked up the family and drove them to Kuna.

Irina Molebnya has relatives in Idaho, but one aunt — who wanted to host them and who helped pay for their plane tickets — did not have enough room in her home for six extra people.

Polishchuk’s refugee group has created an informal network in the Treasure Valley, working to meet the basic needs of the Ukrainian families coming to Idaho and to vet potential host families.

Polishchuk herself immigrated to the U.S. as a child with her family, who were religiously persecuted in the former Soviet Union. The family arrived in the late 1980s, and Polishchuk said she was welcomed and supported by the Americans she encountered, and always had a roof over her head.

“We experienced it in the family, and so it’s our turn now, just 34 years later, to pay it forward to those families coming in,” she said.

The meaning of immigration status

As Ukrainians arrive, they can face difficulties building a life in the U.S. because of their immigration status. Those who come to the U.S. on a humanitarian parole status do not qualify for the benefits that a refugee qualifies for, Soerens said. Those benefits can include using federal money to assist people in finding housing and employment, getting children into schools, and assisting with counseling and cultural adjustments.

Refugees also qualify for permanent residency one year after arrival; individuals in the U.S. on parole status do not, and the Ukrainians arriving now are eligible to stay for only two years. Parole status also does not automatically confer employment authorization.

Some Ukrainians have also come on existing tourist visas, which allow for temporary residency, Soerens said.

The process of applying for refugee status takes much longer than the parole process, and usually has to be done while the person is outside of the country they are applying to live in, Soerens said. Once inside the U.S., people may choose to apply for asylum.

Soerens said he would like to see the U.S. government bolster its refugee program to allow Ukrainians to apply to stay for longer and to access the resources available to other refugees.

“It seems like the Biden administration is presuming that all these people are going to want to go back in two years,” Soerens said, noting that it’s unclear what the situation in Ukraine will be.

“Even if the war’s over — and we all hope it is — Ukraine is devastated economically, and there’s probably some people who will say, ‘You know what? We want to stay in the U.S.,’ ” he said.

Tara Wolfson, the director and state refugee coordinator for the Idaho Office of Refugees, told the Statesman that she is hopeful Congress will give the Idaho office permission to serve these Ukrainians through existing federal programs. In the meantime, her office is raising private funds to serve Ukrainains and other asylum seekers by helping with English-language training, integration and career services, she said by email.

In April, the Biden administration, which has pledged to admit 100,000 Ukrainians, announced a new program to welcome those fleeing the war directly into the U.S. on humanitarian parole if they have a sponsor and pass screening checks. The new policy has also closed off access from Mexico.

‘As normal as possible’

Vladimir said that even if the war ends, he wants to stay in the U.S. because he is worried that a form of chaos will reign in his country for years afterward — ripe with gangs, extortion and organized crime.

Irina and Vladimir’s children have begun going to a public elementary school in Kuna. Vladimir, who worked as a welder in Oleksandriya, is still waiting on legal authorization to find employment, Podnebesnyy said. For now, the family may live with Podnebesnyy and her family of four children for multiple months.

In April, the family heard that multiple locations in Oleksandriya had been bombed. While the family was traveling through Germany, the children would duck if they heard a plane, or would hear other sounds and think they were air raid sirens, Podnebesnyy said.

In Ukraine, Vladimir and Irina constantly listened to the radio, they said, worried that Russian troops would encircle the city. They still have family in Ukraine and follow the news closely, but no longer have to fret about their survival.

“Here, we try to make it as normal as possible,” Podnebesnyy said.

TNS