Vance Phillips hopes to get Ukrainian wife into U.S.

Vance Phillips, who was no stranger to making news during his 16 years as a Sussex County councilman, is now in the international spotlight.

Phillips, of Laurel, who is married to a Ukrainian woman, is trying to get her out of harm’s way and into the United States, but has run into a roadblock at the Mexico-Texas border.

Close friend and former Lewes resident, Judson Bennett, has been in close contact with Phillips over the years, and Phillips has stayed at Bennett's Palm Beach, Fla. home. Bennett has been in touch with Phillips by phone several times since he arrived in Texas.

Bennett said the couple met five years ago in Ukraine where they became friends, fell in love and were eventually married. His wife has become Phillips' caregiver and accompanies him on trips. Phillips has spent a lot of time over the past five years living in Ukraine.

Since leaving council in 2014, Phillips, who is still suffering from injuries sustained in an ultra-light aircraft crash on Oct. 31, 2011, near Lynchburg, Va., has been traveling the world. “He is really compromised and very ill, yet he keeps going,” Bennett said.

Wife seeks political asylum

When the war in Ukraine broke out, Phillips, who was in the United States, offered to move his wife and her mother and brother out of the county. Her family refused, but his wife took a bus to Poland, flew to Spain, then to Columbia and finally to Cancun, Mexico, where the couple was reunited.

“They rented a car and drove to the border at Laredo, Texas, March 17. Vance's wife immediately requested political asylum. Vance was allowed to cross over, but she was taken into custody and put in a detention center,” Bennett said.

Border guards confiscated her cellphone, but she is given time to use a phone in the detention center. “Vance said they are treating her well,” Bennett said.

Bennett said Phillips has checked into a hotel in Laredo, one mile from the border, where he is doing everything possible to get her released, including contacting Sen. Tom Carper's office to intercede on their behalf.

Before any action can be taken, Bennett said, Carper's office needs a release from Phillips' wife. Bennett said Phillips has been faxed the release and is trying to get it to his wife so she can sign it.

Bennett said that Phillips’ fortitude and determination is amazing. He drove the rental car back to Mexico and then drove his motorized scooter 15 miles back across the border to Laredo.

In the meantime, Phillips sits alone in a hotel room waiting to see his wife again.

Very few refugees to U.S.

Ironically, the U.S. government granted temporary protected status starting March 1 to the estimated 30,000 Ukrainians in the United States who have been granted temporary visas for study, tourism or medical reasons. The visas are good for 18 months.

Immigrant visas are granted to Ukrainian citizens who are sponsored by a U.S. citizen, relative or employer. However, the process can take years to complete.

The Biden Administration has placed a cap of 125,000 immigrants in fiscal year 2022, but that number only includes 10,000 from Europe. Lawmakers are asking the administration to increase the number and also find a way to speed up the immigration process for Ukrainians who have relatives living in the United States.

While more than 3 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, very few have immigrated to the United States. Reports indicate that number to be several hundred. The U.S. admitted 500 Ukrainians in January and February before the war started, according to immigration records.

A recent New York Times story highlighted the efforts being made by a northern California couple to sponsor Ukrainian refugees who make it to the Mexican border. They are taking the refugees into their home as part of a church mission to get Ukrainians resettled in the United States.