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 by the U.S. refugee program, which he suspended throughout his first day in workplace.

In an executive order, Mr. Trump accused the South African authorities of discriminating towards 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 towards 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 regulation that U.S. conservatives like Trump adviser and billionaire Elon Musk have mentioned 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 regulation 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 reduction, together with admission and resettlement by 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 could be enacted, since refugee arrivals have been dropped at a halt by Mr. Trump.

In an executive order he signed on Jan. 20, the president argued refugees have been a pressure on receiving communities and mentioned 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 beliefs or different elements. Sometimes, 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. by the refugee program have hailed from international locations in Africa and Asia stricken by warfare, ethnic strife or repression of minority teams, State Department figures present.

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

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

Past the racial discrimination accusations, Mr. Trump additionally mentioned South Africa had taken “aggressive positions in 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 towards Palestinians.  

contributed to this report.

Camilo Montoya-Galvez

Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the immigration reporter at CBS News. Primarily based in Washington, he covers immigration coverage and politics.