Because it would undercut "the strongest security advice," Priti Patel has refused to follow the EU's lead and waive visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees leaving their country.
When tight limitations on bringing in the family members of Ukrainians already living in the UK were slammed as "shameful," a fellow cabinet minister hinted at a reconsideration.
To MPs' dismay, she refused to waive visa requirements, stating: "The approach we are adopting is based on the highest security advice."
Despite the fact that only the spouses, children, or sick relatives of those already in the UK would be allowed in, Ms Patel said that up to 100,000 Ukrainians might still travel to the UK.
Critics in the House of Commons were outraged by Ms. Patel's hard-line position, as well as bewildered by her confused statements.
However, the home secretary seemed to rule out any more assistance beyond the extremely narrow guidelines for select family members at one time.
Before, the EU announced that it would provide refuge for three years without an asylum application, while hundreds of thousands of desperate individuals crossed Ukraine's border.
Boris Johnson's spokeswoman said that "there would be extra help for individuals who are fleeing the violence," while Ben Wallace hinted at similar UK action.
Ex-ministers Jeremy Hunt, Greg Clark, Damian Green, and Caroline Nokes have written to the prime minister requesting "decisive" action, along with current ministers Jeremy Corbyn and Nick Clegg.
77% of respondents to a YouGov poll said they support removing the visa requirement for Ukrainian migrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
Since immigration minister Kevin Foster stated on Saturday that fleeing Ukrainians may seek to work as seasonal fruit pickers in the UK, the government has come under criticism from critics.
In the Commons, he was pressed to apologise for a tweet he deleted, but he refused to do so.
Ms Patel cited "what Putin's Russia is ready to do, even on our territory, as we witnessed via the Salisbury incident" as a reason for rejecting relaxing visa restrictions.
As she explained to MPs, "Security and biometric checks are key parts of our visa processing process globally and will remain."
The safety of British residents and our ability to assist those in actual need are both dependent on this, especially in light of Russian soldiers penetrating Ukraine and integrating with Ukrainian forces.
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