New Jersey “stands ready and able” to accept refugees from Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s military invasion of the country, Gov. Phil Murphy wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
“We are a state built on the contributions of those who came here in search of safe harbor after leaving desperate situations, and we will extend a warm and sincere welcome to Ukrainians displaced by this senseless invasion,” Murphy wrote.
More than 670,000 refugees have fled Ukraine in the week since Russia began attacking the country, many via car, packed trains, and even on foot. Most have gone to European nations.
The United Nations has projected that number could balloon into the millions in coming weeks. Most are women and children since Ukraine has conscripted men between the ages of 18 and 60 to fight.
It’s unclear where any Ukrainian refugees would be housed in New Jersey. Murphy’s administration is expected to work with the Biden administration on that.
Last year, New Jersey housed more than 9,000 Afghan refugees at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst after the Taliban took over their country. Murphy also established a state task force to help them settle in the state.
Murphy said in his letter that New Jersey has watched the invasion in “sadness and horror” and noted that the Garden State is home to 75,000 residents of Ukrainian descent, many who arrived as refugees from the former Soviet Union.
Murphy has sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion, calling it “a war of choice by a thug.”
The governor asked the Biden administration to consider giving temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the U.S., as well as work permits and protection from deportation for DACA recipients and those on student visas.
A similar plea came from than one-third of the U.S. Senate, led in part by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“The war in Ukraine is exactly the type of crisis TPS was created for—to allow people to live and work in the United States when they are unable to return home safely,” Menendez tweeted last week.
In a letter to Biden, the 39 senators, who also included Cory Booker, D-N.J. asked that the administration “promptly take all necessary steps to ensure that Ukrainian nationals present in the United States are not forced to return to Ukraine.”
“Granting TPS to the limited population of Ukrainians who are currently in the U.S. on a temporary basis will create a minimal disruption for our country, but forcing these individuals to return to a war zone would be unacceptable,” they wrote.
The U.S. State Department said 29,510 nonimmigrant visas were issued to Ukrainian nationals in federal fiscal year 2020, according to the senators.
Separately, 115 House members, including six from New Jersey, also asked Biden to allow Ukrainian nationals to overstay their visas and temporarily remain in the U.S.
“Without action by your administration, they could be forced to return to a nation under siege,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the president.
Those signing the letter included U.S. Reps. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist.; Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist.; Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist.; Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., Mikie Sherrill, D-11th Dist., and Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist.
Meanwhile, as the U.S. and other countries have levied tough economic sanctions on Russia, New Jersey state lawmakers are advancing legislation that would ban state and local government entities here from doing business with the Russian government or any companies with interests in the country’s government.
The state Senate budget committee approved the bill 12-0 on Monday. The measure (S1889) is up for a vote in the full Senate on Thursday. It must also be passed by the state Assembly before Murphy decided whether he will sign it into law.
The Assembly on Monday unanimously approved a bipartisan resolution saying it stands in solidarity with Ukraine. The Senate is expected to vote on the resolution Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.
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