Delivering remarks on Thursday, President Biden announced the “Uniting for Ukraine” program, which will permit Ukrainians to seek refuge in the U.S. through a sponsor.

Video transcript

JOE BIDEN: Last month, when I was in Europe, I announced in the United States would welcome 100,000 Ukrainians so that we share in the responsibility of supporting Ukrainians fleeing Putin's war machine. We've already welcomed tens of thousands of Ukrainians to the United States, and today I'm announcing a program, Unite for Ukraine. A new program to enable Ukrainians seeking refuge to come directly from Europe to the United States.

This new humanitarian parole program will complement the existing legal pathways available to Ukrainians, including immigrant visas and refugee processing. It'll provide an expedient channel for secure, legal migration from Europe to the United States for Ukrainians who have a US sponsor such as a family or an NGO.

This program will be fast, it will be streamlined, and it will ensure the United States honors its commitment to go to the people of Ukraine, and need not go through our Southern border.