Trump orders U.S. to prioritize refugee resettlement of South Africans of European descent

President Trump on Friday directed authorities officers to prioritize the resettlement of South Africans of European descent via the U.S. refugee program, which he suspended throughout his first day in workplace.

In an government order, Mr. Trump accused the South African authorities of discriminating in opposition to Afrikaners, an ethnic group in South Africa made up of descendants of European colonists, principally from the Netherlands, who first arrived there within the 1600s.

Till the Nineteen Nineties, White South Africans of European descent dominated South Africa, implementing the brutal system of apartheid in opposition to the nation’s Black majority.

However Mr. Trump alleged in his order that White South Africans are actually the targets of oppression by the nation’s authorities, citing a legislation that U.S. conservatives like Trump adviser and billionaire Elon Musk have stated permit racially motivated seizures of land owned by White South Africans. Musk was born in South Africa. 

South Africa’s authorities has strongly denied any land confiscations or racially motivated discrimination, saying the legislation being scrutinized targets land not getting used or not serving the general public curiosity.

In his order, Mr. Trump instructed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem to “prioritize humanitarian aid, together with admission and resettlement via the US Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who’re victims of unjust racial discrimination.”

It is unclear how and when that plan can be enacted, since refugee arrivals had been delivered to a halt by Mr. Trump.

In an government order he signed on Jan. 20, the president argued refugees had been a pressure on receiving communities and stated he would solely restart the refugee program if he concluded that doing so would serve the pursuits of the U.S.

Mr. Trump’s order does, nonetheless, permit officers to make case-by-case exemptions to the freeze in refugee arrivals.

The U.S. refugee program is designed to supply a secure haven to folks overseas fleeing persecution primarily based on their race, faith, political opinions or different components. Usually, refugees are referred to the U.S. by United Nations officers and spend months or years in third international locations present process interviews, in addition to safety and medical checks, earlier than being allowed into the U.S.

Traditionally, most of these allowed into the U.S. via the refugee program have hailed from international locations in Africa and Asia tormented by struggle, ethnic strife or repression of minority teams, State Division figures present.

The president’s order additionally cuts off any support or help to South Africa so long as it retains its new land-reform legislation in place. The transfer raises additional questions concerning the U.S.’ AIDS response program, PEPFAR, which supplies HIV remedy to tens of millions of adults and lots of of 1000’s of kids, many in African international locations.

The Trump administration ordered a freeze on all overseas support that encompassed worldwide medical and humanitarian efforts. Final weekend, the State Division issued a waiver to permit PEPFAR and another applications to renew, however there have nonetheless been delays in distributing the help.

Past the racial discrimination accusations, Mr. Trump additionally stated South Africa had taken “aggressive positions in the direction of the US and its allies,” citing the case the nation filed earlier than the Worldwide Court docket of Justice alleging that Israel was engaged in a genocide in opposition to Palestinians.  

contributed to this report.