Marina Behm, Gary Sur and Michael Southam lead FM Volunteers for Ukraine, assisting families and individuals coming to the U.S. (Photos/FM Volunteers for Ukraine).

Moorhead’s Marina Behm joined other local supporters at a pro-Ukraine demonstration on Veterans Memorial Bridge in February.

Michael Southam welcomes Ukrainian emigres Ivan and Stas at Hector Airport.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Moorhead and Fargo are as far from Russia’s war to conquer Ukraine as two quiet Midwestern cities can be. But when Vladimir Putin invaded his neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022, the repercussions were felt half a planet away.
Today, that terror still beats strongly in hundreds of F-M hearts. Almost 400 Ukrainian citizens now live on both sides of the Red River, thanks to a Fargo man and a Moorhead woman who resolved to provide a reprieve from their homeland’s horrors. Michael Southam and Marina Behm reached out, first individually, then together, to bring ravaged residents to safety here, where they have been welcomed.
But now their futures are again in question, as the federal government that approved temporary asylum in past years is weighing anti-immigration changes that could send them back to a nation ever more torn by continued violence.
Michael Southam is the founder of FM Volunteers for Ukraine. Along with Marina Behm of Moorhead and a third colleague, Gary Sur, he mastered the complex process of sponsoring Ukrainian individuals and families for temporary asylum under the federal program called Uniting for Ukraine.
Michael had no family history or ties to Ukraine in 2022, when the war began. “We were hearing about the Russian invasion and Ukrainian resistance on every news channel,” he remembers, explaining how his passion began. “I read about Mark J. Lindquist’s relief drives on Facebook and helped with his campaign to gather medical supplies.” He also learned more about the plight of individuals attempting to evacuate to safety in the US. He was especially touched by stories of how frantic Ukrainians were falling victim to online schemes promising assistance for a fee. “I was consumed with helping them avoid being scammed,” he remembers.
He delved deeper. Michael learned about the federal Uniting for Ukraine sponsorship program known as U4U, including its strict governmental vetting of potential sponsors and requirements to provide temporary financial support and housing for the evacuees, along with help with jobs and medical requirements.
Then the Mohall, North Dakota, native, who’d taken a leave from his job in Chicago to care for his ailing parents in Fargo, took the next logical step: “I applied to sponsor my first refugee,” he says. “And I thought, ‘If I can sponsor one, why not two?’”
His first two Ukrainian parolees arrived at Hector Airport in June 2023, weeks before he’d been expecting them. He rapidly rented a two-bedroom apartment and furnished it with purchases from a thrift shop. Along the way, he met his future colleague Marina, who spoke the language and offered to be his interpreter. Together they formed FM Volunteers for Ukraine. Joined by Gary Sur, they began introducing area residents to the need and opportunity to bring others to safety.
Since mid-2023, Michael and Marina have each sponsored seven individuals and families, while tirelessly sharing their story to recruit others to play the same role. In all, their work has inspired dozens of local partners who sponsor Ukrainians admitted under U4U, or who have helped provide food, household necessities and other support. Today, many of those newcomers are employed in a long list of local businesses, ranging from restaurants and college food services to long-term care facilities, construction and a host of other fields.
All went well under U4U, the Biden-era program overseen by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. The agency granted what it dubbed “humanitarian parole,” offering fleeing Ukrainian citizens temporary protected status to remain in the U.S. The initial approvals were for two years; after that, the parolees could apply for “re-parole,” permitting them to extend their stay.
But the humanitarian program was suspended in the first weeks of the current administration. In what was termed a “temporary reassessment of the program,” applications as well as the re-parole process were halted. While a similar program called CHNV for those escaping violence in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela was ended earlier this year, the fate of the Ukrainians’ temporary protected status still hangs in the balance. The issue of re-parole looms for those already in the US, since the first of the Ukrainians arrived perilously close to two years ago and face the need to re-apply if they are to avoid being returned to the raging war.
In the meantime, Michael says, FM Volunteers for Ukraine continues to support the hundreds who have been building new lives here in Minnesota and North Dakota – a portion of the estimated one million Ukrainians lawfully in this nation.
“We have never fund-raised,” he admits, noting that his group is not incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. “Every cent we get goes directly to aid for those in need. We do need to help those who have come here with some urgent expenses, like money for groceries or rent. And we’re also working as hard as we can to influence our public officials to maintain the U4U program.
“If people want to help us – as many already have done – they can, first of all, contact their elected officials and urge them to keep our Ukrainians safe. That means we must keep them here. It is absolutely not safe for them to return home now!”
For more information on how to help Ukrainians in Moorhead and Fargo, contact the group through the FM Volunteers for Ukraine page on Facebook.