President Trump said Thursday he was considering revoking thousands of visas for Ukrainians who came to the US under the Biden administration — but insisted that he’s “not looking to hurt them.”

“We’re not looking to hurt anybody, and we’re certainly not looking to hurt them, and I’m looking at that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in response to a question about a Reuters report indicating the move was imminent.

“There were some people that think that’s appropriate, and some people don’t, and I’ll be making a decision pretty soon,” the president added.

Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report, citing sources who claimed the plan would be implemented as soon as next month, was wrong and that “no decision has been made at this time.”

More than 200,000 Ukrainians were approved to come to the US under former President Joe Biden’s administration through Temporary Protected Status and the “Uniting for Ukraine” program. 

The Uniting for Ukraine program was suspended on Jan. 27, one week after Trump took office.

Ten days before Biden left office, the Department of Homeland Security extended the TPS program for Ukrainians until 2026, apparently as a pre-emptive move against action by Trump. 

TPS, created under a law enacted by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, provides work permits for migrants from 17 countries who want to stay in America rather than return to home nations marred by war or political instability. Foreign nationals covered by TPS cannot be detained by DHS based solely on their immigration status

Criminals and those subject to national security concerns are not covered by the program.  

The Reuters report indicated the discussions about ending the TPS program for Ukrainians were underway before Trump had a major disagreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.

If forced to return, Ukrainians covered by TPS will be sent back home to face Russia’s ongoing invasion. Some have no homes to return to and are waiting for a peace deal to be signed so they can return safely.

Trump, 78, scrapped the program during his first term and expelled around 400,000 migrants before running into legal challenges — and promised during his successful 2024 campaign to do it again.

“It has nothing to do with Haiti or anything else. You have to remove the people, and you have to bring them back to their own country,” Trump told NewsNation this past October.

The then-candidate cited concerns about Haitian migrants in towns like Springfield, Ohio, which became a major flashpoint in the campaign after Trump said the new arrivals were “eating the cats, eating the dogs.”

“Springfield is such a beautiful place. Have you seen what’s happened to it? It’s been overrun. You can’t do that to people. I’d revoke [the protected status], and I’d bring [the migrants] back to their country,” he said at the time. 

In addition to Ukraine, citizens of Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen are all currently eligible for TPS. 

In separate actions last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the TPS extension for Venezuelan nationals, and reduced the covered time period for Haitian nationals to 12 months from 18. 

TPS coverage for Venezuelans and Haitians will expire April 7 and Aug. 3, respectively.