Donald Trump has made it clear that refugees aren’t welcome in america—until they’re white.
Regardless of suspending all refugee admissions into the nation as quickly as he was sworn on this previous January, the president and his state division bros made an exception and welcomed a planeload of 59 white Afrikaners Monday, lots of whom are farmers of Dutch descent who settled in South Africa. They had been greeted by Deputy Secretary of State Christoper Landau and Division of Homeland Safety Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar with open arms.
“We respect what you have had to deal with these past few years,” Landau mentioned to the households as they waved small American flags and donned camouflage jackets.
Younger Afrikaner refugees from South Africa maintain American flags on Could 12 at Dulles Worldwide Airport in Virginia.
Landau joined Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in boosting the false narrative that white settlers in South Africa have been enduring racial discrimination and even violence from the federal government and Black South Africans.
“No one should have to fear having their property seized without compensation or becoming the victim of violent attacks because of their ethnicity,” the state division wrote in a Monday press launch.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, nevertheless, has been fast to offer the Trump administration a actuality test.
“Those people who have fled are not being persecuted, they are not being hounded, they are not being treated badly,” he mentioned throughout a panel on the Africa CEO Discussion board in Cote d’Ivoire on Monday.
“They are leaving ostensibly because they don’t want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country in accordance with our constitution,” Ramaphosa mentioned.
The South African authorities is implementing the Expropriation Act, which can redistribute some land owned by white South African farmers to Black South African farmers.
As a result of nation’s racist apartheid coverage, Black farmers had been pushed into excessive poverty and had been unable to personal land as a minority of white settlers grew the nation’s crops. Right this moment, simply 4% of personal land is owned by Black folks, despite the fact that they make up 81% of the nation’s inhabitants. The controversial land reform program seeks to steadiness the scales that created generational poverty amongst South Africa’s Black residents.
Due to this and South Africa’s pro-Palestinian stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict, Trump has additionally reduce funding to the nation that offered medical look after sufferers affected by HIV and AIDS.
Rubio additionally gave Emrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to america, the boot from the nation for his lower than favorable statements about his Expensive Chief.
Associated | US boots South African ambassador for saying imply issues about Trump
After all, as Trump and his crew are celebrating over saving white farmers from “racial discrimination,” they’re additionally keen to kick out Afghan refugees who got here to the U.S. fleeing lethal circumstances of Taliban rule.
In accordance with Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem, Afghan residents are secure to return regardless of the nation nonetheless being underneath the rule of the violent militant group.
“We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation,” Noem mentioned in a press launch obtained by The Washington Put up Monday, referring to Momentary Protected Standing. This system allowed folks fleeing war-torn international locations, pure disasters or different challenges to legally reside within the U.S.
“Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevents them from returning to their home country,” Noem mentioned.
Landau was blatant when explaining why white Afrikaners are thought of an exception to Trump’s ban on refugees.
“Some of the criteria are making sure […] that they could be assimilated easily into our country,” he mentioned in response to a reporter’s query.
x
Q: There are a lot of individuals who match the standards of fleeing persecution. Afghans for instance. However they’re being denied refugee standing. So why such an exception for the Afrikaners?
TRUMP ADMIN OFFICIAL: One of many standards is ensuring they are often assimilated simply into our nation
[image or embed]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) Could 12, 2025 at 11:31 AM
In different phrases, the Trump administration’s view of which persons are going through hazard and deserve refuge within the U.S. is extraordinarily subjective.
Marketing campaign Motion
