CLEVELAND — Ivan Prodanyk spends most days at the office helping newcomers after fleeing Ukraine with his wife and two kids in 2022.

What You Need To Know

  • Immigrants make up nearly 14% of the overall U.S. population, generating more than 1 trillion dollars in economic activity

  • U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he is planning to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants once in office, which could lead to significant economic losses
  • Ivan Prodanyk and his family were displaced from Ukraine in 2022. Now, he is working and studying with the hopes of becoming an attorney in the United States

"I was a part of law firm. I found a law firm, everything was good in my country," he said. "And it was me and it was my family. That is why, I'm not like, plan to move to the U.S."

Now, he's living in northeast Ohio as a parolee under the Uniting for Ukraine Program in the months following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Under the program, Ukrainian citizens can apply for humanitarian parole for up to two years and can seek renewals of their status. Prodanyk said the program allowed him seek out employment in the United States and is now working as a paralegal for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

"I'm talking a lot with the Ukrainian population and with the people who arrived to the U.S. because of the war and for specifically for them, it's very important to know that they can stay here," he said.

Prodanyk says finding work is a struggle for most newcomers, but especially for people whose professional experience abroad translates to lower-level positions.

"For example, if you're like an accountant, you can be a bookkeeper here, or if you're were in your country as an attorney, you can be a paralegal here," he said.

Still, he said the immigrant community plays a critical role in the country's economy.

"Everyone is working, I know the Ukrainian population specifically [are] hard working people and everyone is self-sufficient here," Prodanyk said. "Like we try to build our new lives and trying to help our country to win."

Evan Chwalek is the director for policy and workforce initiatives at Global Cleveland, a nonprofit dedicated to boosting the economy by connecting immigrants with employoment opportunities and providing mentorship.

"We provide education that, gives them a better understanding of their contributions to our economy, and we also help them network and connect them with the business community so they can have a little leg up in the interview process and find success in the workplace," he said.

The immigrant community's economic contributions are undeniable, Chwalek said.

"Newcomers are particularly entrepreneurial. They're 80% more likely to start a business than the native born," Chwalek said. "And their, tax contributions to northeast Ohio are really big too, $982 million in federal, state, and local taxes annually."

Prodanyk said organizations like Global Cleveland help immigrants adapt to their new lives.

"Resettlement agency has like specific programs for the immigrants and refugees, and it helps people become self-sufficiency here is sufficient here."

Besides working as a paralegal Prodanyk is studying law at Cleveland State University, hoping to one day become an attorney in the United States.

"[I'm] working to obtain the master's degree here in law, and after that, I hope I will be eligible and will pass the bar exam," he said.