(The Hill) – The Episcopal Church has suspended its refugee resettlement partnership with the federal government due to the focus on resettling white South Africans, while other groups are seeing their immigration protections revoked.
“A little over two weeks ago, the federal authorities notified Episcopal Migration Ministries that, under our federal funding agreement, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been designated as refugees by the U.S. government,” stated Presiding Bishop Sean W. Rowe in a letter on Monday.
“Given our church’s unwavering dedication to racial justice and reconciliation, along with our long-standing relationship with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we cannot proceed in this manner. Therefore, by the conclusion of the current federal fiscal year, we will terminate our refugee resettlement agreements with the U.S. government,” Rowe explained.
The State Department announced that the first group of white South Africans entered the U.S. on Monday.
Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce asserted in a statement that the group was at risk and faced unjust racial discrimination in South Africa, saying taking them in was a move to safeguard victims of racial discrimination.
“No one should have to fear having their property seized without compensation or becoming the victim of violent attacks because of their ethnicity. In the coming months, we will continue to welcome more Afrikaner refugees and help them rebuild their lives in our great country,” Bruce said in her prior statement.
A South Africa foreign ministry spokesperson has ripped the Trump administration’s prioritization of Afrikaners as “politically motivated.”
In February, President Trump signed an executive order in which he pushed his Cabinet to devise a resettlement program for Afrikaners who he said “are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” referencing a South African land law with an aim to fight against the country’s racist apartheid era.
“I want to be very clear about why we made this decision — and what we believe lies ahead for Episcopal Migration Ministries’ vital work. It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,” Rowe said in his Monday letter.
“I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country,” he added.
On Monday, the administration officially lifted temporary protected status for Afghans, removing a shield from deportation for those in the country even as advocates say the refugees could face violence and persecution under the Taliban.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
