Vance Phillips' wife will be allowed in U.S.

Immigration officials will release Viktoriia Lemeshvska Phillips from a detention center at the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday, March 29, after she completes a 10-day COVID-19 quarantine period.

The Ukrainian wife of former Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips was detained at the border at Laredo, Texas, March 17, as the couple attempted to enter the United States.

When Russia invaded Ukraine a month ago, Phillips offered to move her family out of the country, but her mother, father and brother chose to stay. Phillips and his wife met while he was on a trip to Ukraine. They became friends and were married five years ago.

Phillips said his wife had completed an arduous journey from her home in Ukraine, which included a 20-hour bus ride to Poland and flights to Spain, Columbia and Cancun, Mexico, where the couple was reunited.

They rented a car and drove to the border, where they were stopped.

Lemeshvska requested political asylum. She was taken into custody and put in a detention center while Phillips was allowed to enter the U.S. He checked into a Laredo hotel a mile from the border and hired an immigration lawyer.

Speaking with Phillips from Laredo, he said the couple is in the process of applying for a spousal visa, which can take anywhere from seven to 32 months to be finalized. In the meantime, Lemeshvska can live in the United States.

Phillips, who uses a wheelchair and motorized scooter for mobility, is still suffering from injuries sustained in an ultra-light aircraft crash Oct. 31, 2011. The Laurel resident and farmer served on county council for 16 years from 1998 to 2014.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 3.6 million Ukrainians have left the country and another 6.5 million have been displaced from their homes because of the fighting. Neighboring Poland has accepted more than 2 million refugees.