Accepting Ukrainian Refugees

Mitch Daniels takes to the pages of the Washington Post to urge the United States to accept “every last Ukrainian who wants to come here”:

So here we are again. Millions of Ukrainians already have fled the dictator’s tanks. And although the Horvaths of their nation are mainly still at home fighting, there is every chance that again many will have to rebuild their lives in the American refuge. It won’t be merely compassionate and humane for the United States to take in every one who seeks to come; it will be smart.

The university I serve has committed resources to support Ukrainian scholars who feel forced to flee their homeland, and we are in touch with several already. Our hope is to provide them a haven to continue their scholarship until they can return to a safe and free Ukraine. But if, as in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and elsewhere, the dictator’s tanks prevent that for a long time, the United States will experience yet another windfall, of both talent and appreciation for the “blessings of liberty.”

Janos Horvath waited more than three decades. But after the breakthrough of freedom in 1989, he offered his wisdom — as he had offered it to Richard Lugar and countless American young people — to his native land. Another, highly moving photo shows a 70-something Horvath (he died in 2019 at 98) in the same chamber, being sworn in as a member of the new, post-Soviet Hungarian parliament.

We hope for a Ukrainian victory and the survival of freedom in that brutalized country. But until that survival is ensured, we should take them in, not just some arbitrary number, but every one who wants to come. It’s as much in our interest as theirs.

I’m materially in agreement with that. However, as a famous ancestor of mine once put it, “don’t set the fence too far”. Other than those who’ve fled the war, the “Ukrainian diaspora” is presently primarily in (in descending order) Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Brazil, and the United States with other countries having much smaller Ukrainian populations and we shouldn’t be too surprised if that pattern continues. Most of those fleeing the war have gone to Poland. I don’t know how many Ukrainian war refugees will remain there.

Since the metro areas with the largest populations of Ukrainians are (in descending order) New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, I expect we’ll get our share here. They’ll be welcome. There’s a Chicago neighborhood called Ukrainian Village although is isn’t as Ukrainian as it used to be. It’s sort of an oasis on the West Side. There are four Ukrainian churches there and I know of at least two in the town of Buffalo Grove.