Between 1,500 and 2,000 Ukrainians in Greater Cincinnati could lose their legal right to live and work in the United States when Temporary Protected Status expires Oct. 19, a deadline that weighed on attendees at the Ukrainian heritage festival Saturday, Aug. 22, in Montgomery.

The annual celebration, held ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on Monday, Aug. 24, featured Ukrainian music, food and games, WLWT reported. But for many in the crowd, the festivities carried an edge of urgency.

Oksana, one of the festival's organizers, said the annual gathering is a chance to celebrate Ukrainian culture, history and heritage. She added that Russia's invasion threatens more than territory, saying it aims to destroy Ukrainian culture and language entirely.

Many of the TPS holders arrived in Greater Cincinnati after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. TPS allows eligible people from countries experiencing war or other dangerous conditions to remain and work legally in the U.S. The federal designation for Ukraine is set to end in less than two months.

The stakes are personal. Festival attendee Nastya said her sister in Kyiv has spent the past two weeks sleeping in the metro because of ongoing Russian strikes.

Bob Herring, president of the Cincinnati-Kharkiv Sister City Partnership, said the potential loss of Ukrainian residents could create unintended consequences for the region's economy, schools, real estate market and workforce.

Herring pointed to what happened after Haitian TPS expired July 27, when immigrants in the Cincinnati area received summons to check in at the ICE field office in Blue Ash. He said he watched that situation closely, particularly its effects on Springfield, about 80 miles north.

"What's going to happen to Springfield when thousands of Haitians are deported?" Herring said at the festival. "What's going to happen here in Cincinnati when potentially thousands of Ukrainians have to return?"

Herring noted that Kharkiv, Cincinnati's sister city, remains under daily attack from Russian ballistic missiles and that returning TPS holders would be entering an active war zone.

No federal action to extend Ukraine's TPS designation has been announced. Local Ukrainian families are watching for updates from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as the Oct. 19 deadline approaches.

Coming up: Ukraine's Independence Day is Monday, Aug. 24, marking the 35th anniversary of the country's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.