Welcome South African refugees, yes, but Afghans, too

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By Patricia Lopez / Bloomberg Opinion

As one of the first acts of his second term, President Trump suspended the U.S. refugee program, not to be restarted “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.”

Almost four months later, it is now clear which refugees align with those interests, and which do not: Prosperous, white South African farmers are allowed in, while Afghans fleeing the Taliban are not.

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In February, Trump claimed that the South Africans, or Afrikaners, were fleeing “government-sponsored, race-based discrimination” in their native country. This week, when asked at a news conference why the Afrikaners merited an exception to a program that’s been closed since Jan. 20, Trump said: “Because they’re being killed. … It’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about.”

It’s ironic that Trump finds it so easy to acknowledge systemic racism in South Africa while denying its effects in the U.S. Even worse is the administration’s admission of white Afrikaners to the U.S., while it works to deport refugees and asylum-seekers — many of whom are not white — already in the country. As for genocide, little evidence has surfaced; according to news reports, an estimated 50 farmers, mostly Afrikaners, were killed in South Africa between January and September of 2024.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-welcome-south-african-refugees-yes-but-afghans-too/