Trump Cites France at Kansas Rally While Ukrainian Embassy Expects DHS to Extend TPS for 100,000 Ukrainians

President Trump carried a France theme to a rally in Park City, Kansas, on Monday night, Oct. 19, where he cast the Nov. 3 midterms as a choice between order and chaos.

He was there for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who faces a closer-than-expected race against Democrat Adam Hamilton. The Cook Political Report rates the contest a toss-up. NBC News describes it as competitive but leaning Republican.

"If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what's happening in France," Trump said. He called France "a once great nation" that is being "conquered, looted and burned to the ground," and blamed migrants, extremists and left-wing politicians.

He told the crowd that when they see "burning steeples and raging fires in France," that "is what the radical Democrats want to do to America." He offered no evidence that Democrats want violence or destruction here.

The French protests began over affordability and public services and turned violent in some cities, with looting, fires and clashes with police.

Money and map

Republican groups spent more than $740 million on congressional races from Labor Day through Oct. 14, including at least $220 million from Trump-linked groups, according to a CNBC analysis of AdImpact data. Spending is shifting toward Kansas, Texas and Nebraska.

Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to take control, per NBC News. Most of the contested ground is Republican-held.

Ukrainians get a reprieve, apparently

About 100,000 Ukrainians were scheduled to lose Temporary Protected Status on Monday. The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington says that is expected not to happen.

"Based on our current understanding, TPS for Ukrainians is expected to be extended for an additional six months beyond October," embassy spokeswoman Halyna Yusypiuk said. An administration official who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity gave the same account.

DHS has not confirmed it. "An announcement on Ukraine's TPS will be made at the appropriate time," the department said in a weekend statement. "Until such an announcement is made, Ukrainian individuals present in the U.S. under TPS remain under protection."

It would fit a recent pattern. DHS let TPS stand last month for roughly 232,000 Salvadorans through a last-minute notice rather than a formal announcement. Sudanese TPS holders, also due to lose protection Monday, keep it until further notice, DHS said.

Still, 13 of the 17 countries covered when Trump returned to office have lost their designations, and the administration has stripped protections from immigrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan, Syria and South Sudan, among others.

Immigrant advocates see an election-year retreat. "This is different," said Jessica Bansal, an attorney focused on TPS litigation. She speculated that officials may be reluctant to deprive American businesses of workers so close to the vote. Todd Schulte, president of the pro-immigration group Fwd.us, said demanding that Ukrainians with TPS in battleground states like Ohio leave the U.S. "would be very unpopular."

Those are advocates' readings. The administration has given no reason for the apparent shift.

The timing is awkward on another front. Trump faces strong bipartisan backlash for pausing new U.S. sanctions on Russia days before they were due to take effect, and for a decision to import Russian diesel, as Russia's war on Ukraine enters its fifth year.

What the polls show

Immigration was supposed to be Trump's strong suit. The numbers have turned.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sept. 21 found 36% approve of his handling of the issue. An AP-NORC poll in late July, taken after three people were killed in encounters with immigration agents in Florida, Texas and Maine, found 39% approval, and 55% said the administration had gone too far in sending agents into U.S. cities. Republican approval on immigration in that poll was 81%, down from 88% in March 2025.

An October NBC News/Telemundo survey of Latino registered voters found two-thirds believe enforcement has gone "too far."

David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, says the split is between the border and the interior. The near-total closure of the southern border has been popular, particularly with conservatives in border states. Enforcement inside the country has generated more backlash.

"From the voters' perspective, they had chaos at the border during Biden's term in office, and now they have chaos in the interior under Trump's term, and they're not happy with either party on this," Bier said.

Immigration is not the top concern. In AP-NORC polling, 45% of voters list immigration and crime among the most important issues, behind the economy, cost of living, healthcare and the war with Iran.

Republicans adjusting

Some Republicans are already hedging. Rep. María Elvira Salazar of Florida aired a Spanish-language ad saying the crackdown had "betrayed" Hispanic voters in her district. Kansas cattle ranchers told The Guardian that ICE operations are having "a massive chilling effect" on documented, skilled workers and warned of higher meat prices. The Guardian reports Marshall, once a vehement backer of Trump's immigration agenda, has softened his rhetoric as his race tightened.

In Texas, a New York Times/Siena poll found voters evenly split on which Senate candidate they trust more on immigration: Democrat James Talarico or Trump-backed Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Democrat has not won a Senate seat there in almost 40 years.

The Trump pitch is that the border is secure and Democrats would unravel it. It is unclear whether DHS formally announces the Ukrainian extension before Nov. 3.