‘We are looking for an opportunity to have some protection’: Ukrainian community meets with Rep. Baumgartner

SPOKANE, Wash. — Ukrainian refugees in Spokane want Representative Baumgartner to understand their concerns.

Hanna Sylenko and her family fled the war in Ukraine two years ago and settled in Spokane as humanitarian parolees.

Since then Hanna, like many refugees, found support in local nonprofit, Thrive International.

The organization provides temporary housing, education and other resources to refugees in Spokane.

The Sylenko’s humanitarian parolee status expires in a few weeks, but despite submitting renewal paperwork, they have not received a response.

“We are not going to understand what is going on with us in the next month,” Hannah said.

She said they are unsure if they will be able to stay in the United States.

Hanna said she wants Representative Baumgartner and other lawmakers to understand families like hers have no home to return to in Ukraine if they are deported from America.

“The people who make the decisions to go a long, long, long way from home and start a new life, they want to have some protection from the government, and from people who totally understand your situation, not as a political situation, but as a human situation,” she said.

Representative Baumgartner is scheduled to speak with Ukrainian refugees at Thrive International on Tuesday night.

Hanna said she wants Baumgartner to support the Ukrainian people and provide them with pathways to receive legalized status in the U.S.

“It’s not that we are just looking for an opportunity just to stay here, but we are looking for an opportunity to have some protection and to show congressmen that we are not just spending money,” she said.

Baumgartner told 4 News Now that he hopes to alleviate some of the anxiety felt by Hanna and others in her position.

“They know I’ve been consistent that we don’t want Russia to be successful in Ukraine. We can have some differences of agreement with the Ukrainian government, but for those folks, I am very supportive of the Ukrainian refugee community and will continue to be,” he said.

While Baumgartner did issue a statement in support of Ukrainian refugees earlier this month, he also called on Ukrainian President Zelensky to resign following his meeting with Trump at the Oval Office in February.