Thousands of Ukrainians who’ve settled temporarily in Minnesota fear that they may soon have to return home, even as Russia’s assault on their country continues. That’s because the Trump administration has stopped renewing work permits for people who came to the United States under a Biden-era humanitarian program.

The concern is especially high at Kramarczuk’s deli and restaurant in northeast Minneapolis, a cornerstone of the city’s Ukrainian community known for its stuffed cabbage, pierogies, sausage and other eastern European delicacies. 

Wasyl and Anna Kramarczuk started the business as a butcher shop after leaving Ukraine during World War II. For decades, people newly arrived from the former Soviet Union and its satellite countries have worked at Kramarczuk’s, where they’ve been able to earn a living, learn English, and assimilate to American culture.

“Kramarczuk’s has been an incubator for immigrants and refugees from eastern Europe for 70 years,” said Orest Kramarczuk, the founder’s son. “Besides the food and the history here, our primary mission was to help a lot of the immigrants and refugees from eastern Europe.”

“I found my job on my first day in the USA,” said Anastasiia Onyshchenko, who came to Minneapolis from Kyiv in 2023. Onyshchenko, 23, said that she loved her job, which included boosting Kramarczuk’s social media presence.

But Onyshchenko’s employment came to an abrupt halt last week. Onyshchenko said that in the fall, she applied for an extension to her two-year work permit but never heard back from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“Work permits aren’t being extended, and every day more and more people are losing their right to work,” she said.

Onyshchenko is among around 240,000 people who came to the U.S. through a program called Uniting for Ukraine, or U4U, which former President Joe Biden launched soon after Russia’s 2022 invasion. An estimated 2,600 people have settled in Minnesota, according to the state’s Department of Human Services. Biden began the program under a provision in immigration law known as humanitarian parole. But after the Democrat left the White House in January, Republican President Donald Trump ordered a stop to all parole programs on his first day in office. 

Trump’s order doesn’t mean that Ukrainians living in the U.S. have to leave immediately. But the nonprofit Ukraine Immigration Task Force said authorities are not accepting extension applications, and Ukrainians who applied after October may not get an answer from the government until or unless the streamlined extension process resumes. USCIS did not respond to a request for comment from MPR News. 

Daryna Kalenska started at Kramarczuk’s after arriving in Minneapolis late last year. Her work permit is good through September of 2026, but Kalenska, 20, said the uncertainty over shifting immigration policy worries her.

“I have a lot of time to work, but I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” Kalenska said. “Maybe this program will be canceled. And I don’t know. What should I do in this situation?” 

Viktoriia Pashchyn, who grew up in a village near Ternopil, came to the United States in late 2023. Pashchyn, 24, said she likes Minneapolis because the cost of living is lower than in larger cities and she was able to find a job quickly. Pashchyn said Kramarczuk’s helped her get settled.

“They helped us with temporary homes, with documents, and other stuff,” she said.

Under current rules, Pashchyn is able to work at the restaurant through September but said that she has been unable to extend her permit.

Twin Cities immigration attorney Evangeline Dhawan-Maloney said humanitarian programs such as Uniting for Ukraine are discretionary, and who’s admitted depends on who’s in the White House.

“The laws give the president broad authority to parole individuals into the United States,” she said. “One administration can choose to parole more individuals and another could, as we’re seeing now, scale that back significantly.” 

Dhawan-Maloney said that the U4U program does not include a path to citizenship or permanent residency. And while the Ukrainian workers at Kramarczuk’s might be able to apply for asylum, she said the bar for getting it is high. 

Nick Kramarczuk, the general manager of the business that his grandparents founded in 1954, said the temporary employees make up about a third of his staff and have brought a youthful energy that’s been a boon to the restaurant’s authentic Ukrainian identity.

“They’re passionate about their culture and their food, which benefits us,” Kramarczuk said. They have new ideas, they have different ways of doing things and I’ve learned so much from them. And I think it’s pretty clear from talking with them that they’re dealing with a lot.”  

Kramarczuk said he’s looking for certainty from the Trump administration about his employees’ futures because they deserve the same opportunities that his grandparents had. And even though many of the workers hope to return to Ukraine when there’s a lasting peace, Kramarczuk said for now, they deserve to be in America.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities Thursday.

Battle over federal immigration crackdown

The backstory:

The litigation comes after President Donald Trump’s executive order threatening to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities if they did not assist with the federal government’s deportation mandates.

As the title of the executive order reads, the Trump administration said the reason for this order is about public safety and “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul and more than a dozen cities joined the San Francisco v. Trump lawsuit in February.

Judge issues injunction

What they’re saying:

U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the injunction Thursday and wrote the administration is prohibited from “directly or indirectly taking any action to withhold, freeze, or condition federal funds.” 

The federal judge said the Trump administration cannot threaten cities into complying with federal immigration enforcement pointing to merits likely violating the Constitution’s “separation of powers” and “the spending clause.”

An injunction was also ordered in 2017 in a similar situation.

What’s at stake

Why you should care:

What was at stake for the Twin Cities was millions of dollars in federal funding. Both cities said those funds were committed to critical initiatives including affordable housing and emergency response. 

Local perspective:

“Today’s court order stops the Trump administration from withholding funds from local governments like Minneapolis based on our policies limiting the use of city resources to assist with federal immigration enforcement. This is an important victory for the City of Minneapolis, where we continue to uphold our values and support our community members,” wrote Kristyn Anderson, Minneapolis City Attorney.

“What Donald Trump is doing is downright illegal. In Minneapolis, we stand with immigrant families – not just in words, but in court. We won’t be bullied into violating the Constitution or breaking the trust between our residents and their local government,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

“This ruling affirms what we’ve always known: the President cannot force city employees to serve as ICE agents,” said St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. “Our team will stay focused on our sacred responsibility—to provide exceptional public services for all of our residents.” 

What’s next

Timeline:

The administration must provide written notice of this order to all federal departments and agencies by Monday.

The Department of Justice is defending Trump’s policy. So, this case will likely be heard next in a court of appeals.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – As Minneapolis lays out its summer public safety plans, the city’s violence interrupter groups are challenging new requirements in their proposed contracts. 

The nonprofit organizations typically patrol high-crime corridors, doing community outreach while keeping the peace. 

City Hall is still trying to work out new contracts with the organizations following a lawsuit settlement and calls for enhanced oversight. 

But with no new contracts, the violence interrupters are off the streets.

Minneapolis violence interrupters 

What we know:

The Minneapolis City Council recently signed off on annual contracts with five violence interrupter organizations. 

The contracts totaling more than $3.4M in funding for Restoration Inc., T.O.U.C.H Outreach, Sabathani Community Center, Mad Dads of Minneapolis and A Mother’s Love Initiative were set to begin April 1. 

So far, the contracts are unsigned, and several organizations have pushed back on proposed city requirements.

READ MORE: Minneapolis violence prevention groups put on notice, accused of double billing

What they’re saying:

Moe Abdul-Ahad is Founder and Executive Director of T.O.U.C.H. His team of unarmed violence interrupters, in their black and yellow outerwear, typically walk East Lake Street, addressing issues and keeping the peace. But that is not happening right now. T.O.U.C.H is one of several nonprofits attempting to negotiate with Minneapolis on new contracts to continue providing violence interruption services in troubled corridors of the city.

Abdul-Ahad told the FOX 9 Investigators he has serious concerns about some of the requirements city staff are implementing during this contract cycle, including background checks, drug testing and shrinking the size of his street outreach teams.

“You are going into a partnership with a nonprofit organization,” said Abdul-Ahad. “You know, it’s like we need the flexibility to be able do what is best for our organization.”

Abdul-Ahad’s last contract expired at the end of March. He isn’t sure T.O.U.C.H can afford the changes he believes the city is mandating within his $708,400 annual contract that comes with a two-year option to extend.

Said Abdul-Ahad, “Some of the things that they are requiring for us to have, there is supposed to be a partnership. It doesn’t feel like a partnership, it feels more contractual. And I am going to go even further than that, it feels punitive with the process.”

READ MORE: Minneapolis failed to track millions in violence prevention funding. It just approved even more.

The backstory:

Minneapolis’ Neighborhood Safety Department and the violence prevention organizations doing the work on the streets of Minneapolis have been under growing scrutiny because of lawsuits, allegations of mismanagement and heated arguments at city hall. Multiple city council members said they have no confidence in the Neighborhood Safety Department to oversee and administer the work.

City leaders have promised to enhance the bidding and contracting protocols in funding its violence prevention initiatives that go beyond traditional policing.

A Minneapolis spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that the violence interrupter groups are currently working on completing new requirements – including hiring, background checks and drug screening before the final paperwork can go out.

READ MORE: Minneapolis outlines enhanced policies and oversight for violence prevention programs

Dig deeper:

Northside City Council member LaTrisha Vetaw supports the city’s efforts to bring more accountability to the violence prevention programs, explaining she wants to see a more professional and full-time approach including proper training, insurance offerings and fair pay for workers out in the community.

“This work has been done for five years a certain kind of way, transitions are hard for people,” explained Vetaw. “We have to straighten these things out. People have called for more transparency in what the violence interrupters are doing, what methods they’re using, how the city uses and pays violence interrupters.

What’s next:

It is not clear what the timeline on negotiations is right now. Sources have said the sides have an important meeting scheduled for Monday to try to work out their differences. 

But for now, the violence interrupters are off the streets as the city rolls out a robust community safety plan for the upcoming summer season.