Immigration is more than just an issue to be debated and used as leverage in political campaigns. However, since almost the inception of the United States of America to present day, anti-immigration misinformation and sentiment has poisoned the rhetoric surrounding the flow of immigration to the U.S.

BYU alumna Leila Tyltina's family in 2014 was driven from their home in Makiivka, Ukraine by invading Russian soldiers. Eight years later she and her husband Alex Tyltin watched from their Wymount apartment in Provo as Russia advanced further into their home country.

Utah musicians and artists gathered in the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City Monday evening to perform a benefit concert on behalf of the Utah Ukrainian Association.

For most Utahns, the Russian attack on Ukraine on the morning of Feb. 24 was a shocking headline. But for the 1,500 Ukrainians living in Utah, it was a horrifying threat to the sovereignty of their homeland and the safety of their loved ones.

Nadia DeVol is a half-Ukrainian BYU student, and much of her extended family remains in Ukraine during Russia's invasion of the country. "It's kind of a surreal experience. I'm always checking the news. You're just expected to not know every hour if your family still alive," DeVol said.

The Utah State Capitol Building was lit with blue and yellow to show support for Ukraine on Feb. 28 after a rally of at least a thousand people.