RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) – On Monday, March 14^th, 2022, the State Assembly sent a bipartisan letter to President Biden urging swift actions to adopt policies to welcome displaced Ukrainians.

This letter emphasized the urgency of the matter and recommended the use of humanitarian parole as a mechanism to quickly allow refugees to seek asylum in the United States. The letter, spearheaded by Assemblymembers Cooley, Gallagher, and Kalra, was signed by 67 Assemblymembers from both sides of the aisle.

On March 24, 2022, President Biden announced that the United States would be accepting 100,000 refugees from Ukraine utilizing a number of legal pathways, one such pathway being humanitarian parole. This news is momentous for the many Ukrainians and Ukrainian-American’s in the Sacramento region. Vlad Skots, President of the local non-profit Ukrainian American House, has been engaging with California leaders to inform them of the humanitarian crisis being faced by Ukrainian people abroad and at home. This partnership between the Ukrainian-American community and the California Legislature was instrumental in the organization of the letter to the President. Assemblyman Cooley takes pride in the leadership California and its people demonstrated in urging this critical step forward.

Assemblyman Cooley remarks, “Ukraine’s national anthem opens with the phrase, ‘The Dignity and Freedom of Ukraine has not yet Perished.’ With the entire world watching, we are awe-struck to see how a free people fight for their dignity, for their freedom, and to keep their unperishable national identity. We support the fullest possible U.S. partnerships in support of this courageous and determined people.”

Assemblyman Ken Cooley represents the 8^th Assembly District which includes the communities of Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Murieta, Rosemont, Wilton and other portions of unincorporated Sacramento County.   For more information, please visit asmdc.org/members/a08/