Here’s something my friends and family have never heard before: I’m completely lost for words. 

It’s taken me unusually long to gather my thoughts for this column because I just couldn’t find what to say.

My opinion of Donald Trump isn’t exactly a secret, my disdain for his dangerous approach to Ukraine is well-documented, but even I didn’t see his most recent move coming.

Trump says he wants peace, but at every turn, he is punishing Ukraine, not Russia. He said he was tired of watching Ukrainian people die. 

So why is he apparently preparing to deport 240,000 of them straight back into the jaws of a deadly war zone? 

Reports at home and abroad suggest that the President is going to revoke the protections they’ve enjoyed in the US since fleeing the conflict. 

Let that sink in for a moment. These 240,000 humans are not abstract statistics – that’s a quarter of a million mothers, fathers, and children who escaped Putin’s missiles and brutality.

There are no words to describe the wave of despair I felt upon hearing this news. My initial reaction isn’t printable. But as I paced my room, a mixture of frustration and emotion simmering, my phone lit up as friends texted me in complete disbelief. 

The conclusion was unanimous. Evil. Not just pure evil, but evil on a historic and unprecedented scale.

There will be deaths and the blood of those families will be on Trump’s hands as much as they are on Putin’s.

Families like Yulia’s, whose story I recently read about.

They fled Ukraine through unimaginable hardship days trapped in terrifying uncertainty, enduring relentless missile attacks, panic attacks, and severe deprivation. 

Upon finally reaching safety in Arlington, Virginia, Yulia and her family began rebuilding their lives: finding jobs, enrolling their children in schools, and becoming valued members of their new community. 

Now, they’re faced with the devastating threat of being uprooted once again, returned to the horrors they narrowly escaped amid Trump’s reported plans to deport the Ukrainians who now call America their home. 

This is a tale of two conflicts: the war in Ukraine and the battle for America’s soul—and Trump’s latest betrayal reveals exactly how America is faring in its internal struggle.

Joe Biden’s administration helped Ukrainian immigrants resettle in the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine program, allowing them to legally work and live safely in America. 

Trump’s decision to revoke this protection and throw these families back into Putin’s war machine isn’t strength, ‘America First’ or even a vain attempt to secure peace – it’s moral bankruptcy at its absolute worst. 

America is a nation of immigrants. Its foundation and meteoric rise as a country is thanks to immigrants, and its true strength has always been grounded in compassion and moral clarity. 

Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike have historically united around principles of honour, freedom, and protecting the vulnerable.

There are countless examples through the centuries. When the Great Famine devastated Ireland, over a million Irish immigrants found refuge in America. 

When Europe faced the horrors of Nazi Germany, America welcomed nearly 200,000 Jews fleeing persecution. 

In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, America sheltered thousands of Vietnamese families fleeing communist aggression. 

These decisions set a global moral example, a testament to America’s strength, compassion and leadership.

Today, however, Trump is choosing cruelty over compassion. He is squeezing what little soul the country has left under the guise that it’s about being ‘fair’ to America.

But Trump doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘fair.’ His vision is blurred by his obvious admiration for Vladmir Putin. 

If Trump wants ‘fair’ compensation for the cost of supporting Ukraine, why is he demanding it from the invaded, not the invader? 

Right now, there’s over $300 billion of frozen Russian assets sitting idle in Europe. Why isn’t Trump sanctioning Russia aggressively himself, seizing their assets, and repaying American taxpayers directly? 

It’s quicker, more effective, and infinitely fairer than stripping rare minerals from Ukraine or plotting to topple Ukrainian leadership through duplicitous back-channel schemes or public Oval Office dressing downs?

This is precisely what the UK is doing—because that approach is fair. Last week, Keir Starmer announced plans to use frozen Russian assets to fund increased support for Ukraine. 

America could do the same, but Trump isn’t interested in genuine fairness or peace. 

He’s committed to punishing the victim, not the aggressor.

Trump’s potential deportation of refugees isn’t just abandoning Ukraine; it’s abandoning America’s own moral compass. 

If America allows compassion and core values to be replaced by cruelty and cynicism, it loses something far more valuable than geopolitical power. It loses the  fundamental battle for the soul of America.

And what’s really left if you lose the heart of your country?

Ukraine might be winning the fight for its immediate survival – but under Trump, America is losing the fight for itself. 

The consequences of the former are far graver – immediate and devastating – but if the latter takes much longer, we’ll lose both.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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