Ukrainians in SoCal who fled Russia’s invasion now live in fear of being deported by Trump

As if the explosive meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump at the White House wasn’t demoralizing enough, reports that refugees who settled in the U.S. after fleeing the war in Ukraine might be deported has ushered in a sense of despair for many in Southern California.

They include people like Valeria Dudko, who fled the small Ukrainian village of Myla near Kyiv with her son when Russia invaded in 2022. She has since settled in Orange County and gave birth to a second son.

“I feel unsafe in the beginning of the war in Ukraine. I have the same feelings right now,” she said. “I have so many stress right now. I can't sleep. I cry every day. I'm really nervous.”

When Russia’s invasion began, thousands of Ukrainians fled, many of them resettling in the U.S. The Biden administration offered them temporary protected status until October 2026. But last week Reuters reported Trump was considering revoking those protections, putting people like Dudko at risk of deportation. The White House denounced the report as “fake news,” but Trump on Thursday said there were “some people that think that’s appropriate, and some people don’t and I’ll be making a decision pretty soon.”

Ukrainian and U.S. officials are scheduled to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss a potential ceasefire. But Dudko said her oldest son, who is 13, is feeling the stress and asks her if they'll have to go back to Ukraine.

“ I just don't know where to go because America was the only place where we can go and feel safe. But right now, I'm not sure that America is the safe place for Ukrainians,” she said.

When she moved to the U.S., Dudko said she assumed she’d be able to move back two months later. But as the war dragged on, she took measures to build a life here, making friends and getting a job while navigating differences in communication and lifestyles.

Lyuda — who did not want her last name used out of fear of retribution — also resettled in Southern California after the war started. She said Ukrainians who have temporary protected status feel like “ping pong balls,” with one administration welcoming them and the other clearly hostile.

Lyuda said if the Trump administration revokes their temporary status she will have no choice but to go back to Ukraine with her son, who is in elementary school.

“ I tried to prepare him that we might leave and I had a conversation with him … I didn't tell him a lot because he loves being here, he has friends, he learned the language, he feels safe,” she said. “He burst into tears and he said, 'Mommy, mommy, please don't. Don't take me there now'…I can feel and sense his fear.”

Ukrainian Americans worry about long term implications

Ukrainian immigrant Oksana Pashko, who's been an American citizen since 2004, said the treatment of Ukraine “projects weakness and it projects laziness.”

“ We're destroying the reputation (of America). We're becoming an unreliable ally,” she said. “I hope the end game is going to result in some sort of long lasting peace, but the rhetoric, the direction and the immediate actions that are being taken, they look really bad if you think about it. Nothing that has been done so far really helped to stop the war because there is no pressure being applied on Russia.”

Natasha Kozak, a Ukrainian American living in Irvine, said the “lack of professionalism and the lack of decorum” by the Trump administration has been disappointing.

“ I believe in the long term, he's going to negatively impact American diplomacy,” Kozak said. “So, as an American, I have concerns around that because being that I live in this country, it's going to directly impact me.”

The last few weeks, Pashko said, have been an “emotional rollercoaster.” At community events, she said she's experienced an outpouring of support. But recently on a social media page that showcases events for Ukrainians in Orange County, she said there have been a ton of hateful comments.

“There's a lot of hateful comments basically telling these refugees, women and children, to pick up a rifle and go back to Ukraine and fight,” Pashko said. “A lot of profanity, a lot of hateful messages that really don't show the American values in my opinion.”