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United States deported 50 Ukrainians to Poland, transferred them into war zone

ICE deported 50 Ukrainian nationals to Poland on November 18, 2025, the largest single deportation of Ukrainians since Russia's invasion; U.S. officials flew them to Jasionka and transferred them to Polish officials, who escorted them across the border into Ukraine. Some had entered the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole program with pending re-parole applications; Amnesty International and Human Rights First later called the practice a likely violation of international law.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
United States; destination Poland (Jasionka) / Ukraine

Abuses documented

Actors

On November 18, 2025, ICE deported 50 Ukrainian nationals — 45 men and 5 women — on a flight that landed at Jasionka, Poland, in what a Ukrainian border official called the single largest deportation of Ukrainians to their war-torn home country since Russia's 2022 invasion. U.S. officials flew the group to Poland and transported them to the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing, where Polish officials escorted them into Ukraine; Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Olha Stefanishyna, said the administration had originally sought to remove 80 people on the flight.

According to Amnesty International and Human Rights First, some of those deported had entered the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole program established during the Biden administration and had pending applications to renew their status when they were removed. No text or confirmation of any formal U.S.-Poland agreement covering the transfers has been disclosed. Two further flights followed — on March 17 and April 30, 2026 — prompting Amnesty and Human Rights First to jointly call on Poland's government in May 2026 to stop facilitating what they described as unlawful transfers into an active war zone that "shocks the conscience."

Why we recorded this

Removing people with pending humanitarian-parole applications into an active war zone, without the individualized hearing that would determine whether such a transfer is even lawful, converts an immigration process into a mechanism for delivering people directly into danger. The 50 Ukrainians deported through Poland on November 18, 2025 included individuals whose Uniting for Ukraine re-parole requests were still pending when they were removed — due process interrupted mid-process, not concluded by it.

Sources

  1. U.S. deports dozens of migrants to Ukraine amid war — NPR investigative accessed July 31, 2026
  2. Poland: Stop Cooperating with ICE on Unlawful Returns of Ukrainians — Amnesty International USA / Human Rights First investigative accessed July 31, 2026

See also