Around three thousand Belarusians in the USA could face deportation

Yauhen Zhdanovich, head of the "ByAction" initiative, states that the situation has significantly changed with Trump's return to the White House. From 2025, the situation for Belarusian migrants in the USA has further worsened, already after changes directly within the Trump administration.

"ByAction" organization, using open data, notes that out of 3 million asylum cases filed, 3162 concern Belarusians who are now in a particularly high-risk zone.

This primarily refers to those who entered the territory of the USA via Mexico and did not have an appropriate visa. Zhdanovich claims that such an act is not a criminal offense or a serious violation of American laws. Any person has the right at the border or already on US territory to request asylum due to political, religious, or other persecution. A large part of Belarusians now facing arrest and deportation entered the country precisely through the Mexican border.

"Even at the border, one can use humanitarian 'parole' and receive temporary permission to enter the country for humanitarian reasons. Even by crossing a river or pushing through mountains or a desert, one can use USCIS and ask for asylum, stating that they are fleeing revenge from a cartel, the government, or Lukashenka," says Yauhen Zhdanovich.

The "ByAction" initiative notes that since the beginning of 2025, at least 127 Belarusian citizens have been detained — 107 men and 20 women. At the time of the last report on Belarusian migrant cases, 64 people remained in custody, 8 were deported, and 9 agreed to voluntary departure from the USA.

People are massively arrested and placed in detention centers even before their asylum cases are heard, even if the person has no violations, no criminal history, and poses no danger to society.

Yauhen Zhdanovich notes that from July 2025, there has been a sharp decline in the percentage of positive asylum decisions for Belarusians. In May 2026, a record low was recorded — as many as 76% of cases ended in refusal, meaning only 24% were granted. Although in May 2025, positive decisions were made in 73% of cases.

Finally, another problem is that many Belarusians who moved to the USA in search of asylum have expired passports and, consequently, cannot independently leave the country.

However, information has emerged that American immigration services have started deporting Belarusians to third countries, which are not always safe. For example, an immigration court in California ruled to deport two Belarusian citizens as far as Belize.

Detention can last up to 2.5 years, but on average it's 10 months. The cost of an attorney's work and filing appeals during such a period can range from $10,000 to $40,000. He notes that legal aid with case management and filing appeals in America is very expensive.

Activist Hleb Ivashkevich attributes the reason for such long detention to the poor preparation of Belarusian migrants' cases and documents. He says that people are accustomed to the old lenient times, but now much more justification and evidence are required from them. Among other things, trust has decreased towards people who left Poland and entered the USA via Mexico.

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