Trump administration planned to use $250 mln in aid for refugee deportations

The Trump administration has drafted a proposal to use about $250 million of U.S. foreign aid funding to deport refugees granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents.

The drafts indicate that more than 200,000 Ukrainians and 500,000 Haitians under TPS could be targeted, along with nationals of Afghanistan, Palestine, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The UN migration agency has opposed returns to any of those countries, the documents say.

The plan would tap a special foreign aid account traditionally used for refugee assistance in the United States and for voluntary repatriation when conditions at home are safe. The proposals are marked “preliminary.” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McCaffrey called them outdated, saying Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has not made a final decision on TPS for Ukrainians or Haitians.

However, last week DHS and the State Department signed an agreement outlining the same process and specifying $250 million in aid, without naming any particular nationalities.