The US border fence in Tijuana, Mexico. All photos: Willy Lowry / The National
The US border fence in Tijuana, Mexico. All photos: Willy Lowry / The National
The entrance to Unidad Deportiva Benito Juarez, where hundreds of Ukrainian refugees are staying.
The entrance to Unidad Deportiva Benito Juarez, where hundreds of Ukrainian refugees are staying.
Georg Bondarenko with his uncle in Tijuana, having fled Ukraine.
Georg Bondarenko with his uncle in Tijuana, having fled Ukraine.
Ukrainians are sleeping beside luggage in Tijuana.
Ukrainians are sleeping beside luggage in Tijuana.
Children pick out toys from a donation box at the sports complex where Ukrainian refugees are staying in Tijuana.
Children pick out toys from a donation box at the sports complex where Ukrainian refugees are staying in Tijuana.
A young girl plays with a toy.
A young girl plays with a toy.
Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees are sleeping in the gymnasium in Tijuana.
Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees are sleeping in the gymnasium in Tijuana.
Victoria and her partner fled Kyiv for the US. Here they pose inside a refugee camp in Tijuana, Mexico.
Victoria and her partner fled Kyiv for the US. Here they pose inside a refugee camp in Tijuana, Mexico.
Sandra, a 21-year-old university student, waits to enter the US.
Sandra, a 21-year-old university student, waits to enter the US.
Karina Konotopets fled Chernihiv at the start of the war.
Karina Konotopets fled Chernihiv at the start of the war.
Ukrainians huddle around a makeshift charging station in Tijuana.
Ukrainians huddle around a makeshift charging station in Tijuana.
Anastasiya Polo is one of the lead volunteers helping to organise the makeshift refugee camp in Tijuana.
Anastasiya Polo is one of the lead volunteers helping to organise the makeshift refugee camp in Tijuana.
A woman carries a child on to a bus in Tijuana.
A woman carries a child on to a bus in Tijuana.
A bus carrying refugees is parked in front of the sports complex where Ukrainians are staying in Tijuana.
A bus carrying refugees is parked in front of the sports complex where Ukrainians are staying in Tijuana.
A young girl sits on a bus in Tijuana, waiting to enter the US.
A young girl sits on a bus in Tijuana, waiting to enter the US.
Ukrainian refugees walk up the pedestrian ramp to the PedWest point of entry into the United States.
Ukrainian refugees walk up the pedestrian ramp to the PedWest point of entry into the United States.
Ukrainian refugees wait to enter the US.
Ukrainian refugees wait to enter the US.
The San Ysidro Port of Entry from Tijuana.
The San Ysidro Port of Entry from Tijuana.
A man wearing a sombrero and draped in Ukrainian flag welcomes refugees on the US side of the border.
A man wearing a sombrero and draped in Ukrainian flag welcomes refugees on the US side of the border.
Victoria and her partner pose with a young child on the US side of the border.
Victoria and her partner pose with a young child on the US side of the border.
The controversial US border fence stretches for kilometres near Tijuana.
The controversial US border fence stretches for kilometres near Tijuana.
The US border fence stretches towards the Pacific Ocean.
The US border fence stretches towards the Pacific Ocean.

World

US

President Biden unveils plan to welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees

The plan comes one month after the US government first pledged to take in refugees

Willy Lowry
Willy Lowry
New York

April 21, 2022

  • English
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Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Nearly a month after US President Joe Biden promised to take in up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, his administration on Thursday detailed how it plans to accept the influx of people.

The move comes as more than five million Ukrainians have fled the devastating conflict to neighbouring countries in Europe, according to the UN.

A Ukrainian refugee clings to her child, unable to hold back the despair of upheaval as she arrives at the Romanian border. The number of Ukrainian refugees who have fled has exceeded the 5 million mark as the war enters its ninth week, UN data has indicated. AFP
A Ukrainian refugee clings to her child, unable to hold back the despair of upheaval as she arrives at the Romanian border. The number of Ukrainian refugees who have fled has exceeded the 5 million mark as the war enters its ninth week, UN data has indicated. AFP
Children who fled the war take a break at a railway station in Bucharest, Romania, a country which has taken in more than 757,000 Ukrainian refugees to date. AFP
Children who fled the war take a break at a railway station in Bucharest, Romania, a country which has taken in more than 757,000 Ukrainian refugees to date. AFP
A woman gives a wave after crossing the border from Ukraine into Medyka, Poland. Reuters
A woman gives a wave after crossing the border from Ukraine into Medyka, Poland. Reuters
An Ukrainian refugee woman sews in Strasbourg, France, as part of a job scheme for people who have fled the war with Russia. AFP
An Ukrainian refugee woman sews in Strasbourg, France, as part of a job scheme for people who have fled the war with Russia. AFP
A giant photograph of a young refugee is unveiled as part of an art installation by French contemporary artist JR to show solidarity with Ukraine, in Venice, Italy. Reuters
A giant photograph of a young refugee is unveiled as part of an art installation by French contemporary artist JR to show solidarity with Ukraine, in Venice, Italy. Reuters
Vladimir and Avigeja Radionow with Kseniia Temcheniuk, who fled war-torn Ukraine, prepare an Easter basket at a cultural centre in Halle, Germany. Getty Images
Vladimir and Avigeja Radionow with Kseniia Temcheniuk, who fled war-torn Ukraine, prepare an Easter basket at a cultural centre in Halle, Germany. Getty Images
Refugees at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, a country which has to date taken in more than 2,825,000 people from Ukraine. AP Photo
Refugees at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, a country which has to date taken in more than 2,825,000 people from Ukraine. AP Photo
Oleksii Yeromin hugs a Ukrainian refugee at the US-Mexico border. AFP
Oleksii Yeromin hugs a Ukrainian refugee at the US-Mexico border. AFP
A volunteer covers a refugee with a blanket as she queues at the border crossing in south-eastern Poland. AP Photo
A volunteer covers a refugee with a blanket as she queues at the border crossing in south-eastern Poland. AP Photo

The State Department will expand its capacity at embassies and consulates across Europe to help facilitate Ukrainian visa applications and the refugee resettlement process.

Starting on April 25, “Uniting for Ukraine” will provide Ukrainian citizens who were residents of the country as of February 11, 2022 a streamlined process to apply for humanitarian parole.

According to the White House, to be eligible Ukrainians must meet vaccination and public health requirements and undergo extensive security checks.

Under the plan, US citizens and organisations may apply through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to sponsor refugees.

“We are proud to deliver on President Biden’s commitment to welcome 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression to the United States,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement.

“DHS will continue to provide relief to the Ukrainian people, while supporting our European allies who have shouldered so much as the result of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.”

Since the Russian invasion on February 24, thousands of Ukrainians have travelled to Mexico and crossed into the US on foot. The Biden administration has warned that from next week that will no longer be an option.

“Ukrainians who present at land US ports of entry without a valid visa or without pre-authorisation to travel to the United States through Uniting for Ukraine will be denied entry and referred to apply through this programme,” the administration said in a statement.

So many Ukrainians have fled to Mexico in the hope of crossing into the US that Mexican authorities have provided a sports complex in the northern city of Tijuana to refugees while they wait to enter the US.

On Women's Day

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: April 21, 2022, 4:43 PM