Murkowski cosponsors bill to keep Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians in the US

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is one of two Republicans cosponsoring a Senate bill to keep Temporary Protected Status in place for Ukrainians living in the United States. Federal immigration officials have told employers the status is set to end Oct. 19.

The status lets Ukrainians who have lived in the country since at least Aug. 16, 2023, live and work here legally and protects them from deportation. The Department of Homeland Security first granted it in April 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion, and last extended it in January 2025 through Oct. 19, 2026. At that time, the department estimated about 103,700 Ukrainians were eligible to renew.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced the bill Wednesday. It would have Congress itself designate Ukraine for the program, a decision normally made by the Homeland Security secretary. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., are also cosponsors. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is not. The bill is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In February 2025, Murkowski cosponsored a separate bill that would give temporary guest status to Ukrainians who came through the federal Uniting for Ukraine program. She said then that she had met many Ukrainians who "found safety and community in Alaska."

Federal law requires the Homeland Security secretary to decide at least 60 days before a designation expires whether a country still qualifies. If the secretary does not decide by then to end it, the law extends the designation for at least six more months. For Ukraine, that deadline was Aug. 20. No decision was published in the Federal Register by that date.

The Ukraine Immigration Task Force, an advocacy group, says that because no decision was published, the law extended protections to April 19, 2027. In employer guidance issued in August and again Sept. 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the designation is set to end Oct. 19.