POLAND

On November 19, 2025, Ukrainian border authorities reported that fifty Ukrainian citizens, including 45 men and 5 women, were deported from the United States to Poland and had entered Ukraine through the Shehyni crossing on the Poland–Ukraine border. he text and details, or even confirmation of the existence, of an agreement between the United States and Poland has not been disclosed. Some arrangement between the two countries, though, appears to have been in place for this transfer. According to media reports, some of the Ukrainians deported via Poland in November had entered the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine program during the Biden administration and had pending applications for re-parole. A number of them were separated from family members who remain in the United States. On March 17, 2026, ICE Air flights on two small jets carrying Ukrainians arrived in Jasionka, Poland. A third group of Ukrainians were sent on ICE flight to Poland on April 30, 2026. Little is known about what happened to these other groups of Ukrainians, but it is understood that they were also sent back to Ukraine. 

On the same day that the first group of deported Ukrainians returned to Ukraine via Poland, Ukraine sustained a deadly Russian strike in Western Ukraine that killed 26 people and injured more than 100 in Ternopil, just over 100 miles from the Shehyni crossing. Following the attack, on November 20, 2025 the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) issued a warning for Ukraine that “no part of the country should be considered safe.” Deportations to Ukraine run counter to UNHCR’s position since 2022 calling on all States not to forcibly return Ukrainian nationals—including individuals whose asylum claims have been rejected—due to the ongoing war and pervasive risks.

The Trump administration has challenged the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) humanitarian parole program—which granted 280,000 Ukrainians entry to the United States—as a basis for legal status. Ukrainians who arrived through U4U have faced processing delays and holds on their applications and have been arrested and detained by ICE. Litigation on these matters remains pending. 

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has been a key regional ally for the United States. Poland hosts one of the largest Ukrainian populations in Europe under the EU Temporary Protection Directive and domestic emergency-protection legislation, yet the country has simultaneously adopted increasingly restrictive border control practices. As of August 2025, Ukrainians entering Poland must show proof of financial solvency, and Ukrainian refugees face increasingly restrictive social support in Poland. International non-governmental organizations and monitoring bodies have documented frequent violations of the principle of non-refoulement, including the summary return of asylum seekers at the Belarusian border.