The recent decision by the United States to admit 59 Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees has sparked a heated debate among lawmakers. Senator Marco Rubio went to bat for the Trump administration’s repeal, emphasizing all the requirements these people had to fulfill in order to be admitted. Senator Tim Kaine and other legislators expressed outrage at the decision. They claimed that it amounts to a type of racial preference or favoritism.
South Africa’s official unemployment rate of 33.3% only begins to convey the stunning racial divide in employment. Today, while 46.1% of Black South Africans are unemployed, just 9.2% of white South Africans are. This shocking disparity begs urgent questions. Why aren’t these white refugees being admitted, while the 81% Black population of South Africa’s 63 million people are being dismissed and neglected? To add insult to injury, white South Africans tend to be 20 times wealthier than Black South Africans.
Rubio’s larger point though was that the people let in as refugees had proven they were being persecuted and had gone through every vetting procedure. He went on to state, “I think that’s real persecution those 49 people faced. They have truly checked every box that needs to be checked in order to qualify.
Yet even on this last justification, Kaine pushed back, asking why Afrikaners were chosen over other persecuted groups. He stated, “Should that be applied in an even-handed way? For example, should we say if you’re persecuted on the grounds of your religion, we’ll let you in if you’re a Christian but not a Muslim?” Kaine’s remarks mirror larger fears that the US refugee admissions process deeply lacks fairness and equity.
In fact, Kaine added, the persecution claims against Afrikaner farmers are exaggerated at best. He labeled those claims as “totally specious.” He suggested, too, that the presence of an Afrikaner minister in South Africa’s coalition government directly undermines allegations of rampant persecution.
In August, President Donald Trump tweeted — without evidence — that white farmers in South Africa are undergoing “large-scale murder” or “genocide.” This declaration has become the crux of the debate. These declarations have heightened tensions on racial issues in each country. Critics argue that such rhetoric misrepresents the reality facing Black South Africans, who continue to experience significant economic hardship and high unemployment rates.
Marco Rubio was rightly incensed at Tim Kaine’s reckless claims. Trump contended that the United States has the discretion to determine who may enter the country based on its national interests. He continued, “The United States is entitled to choose who gets to come into their country, and they should be able to choose who they prioritize coming in.” He dismissed concerns about race as irrelevant, saying, “You’re the one talking about the colour of their skin, not me.”
Kaine countered that the decision to admit Afrikaners while suspending broader refugee admissions creates a discriminatory standard based on skin color. And so now you have a higher standard, a different standard, applied based upon the color of somebody’s skin. Would that be acceptable?” he asked.
The program was effectively blown up on Trump’s first day in office – January 20, 2017. In the process, nearly 100,000 people who were already approved for resettlement were abandoned. Critics, including Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, argue that Rubio’s support for Afrikaner admissions has changed the US refugee process on its head. He characterizes this change as “global apartheid.”
The challenge we encounter over there is the quantity challenge,” Rubio stated when talking about persecution abroad. And if you think about it, if you look at all the persecuted people of the world, it’s millions and millions of people. They can’t all come here. “However, Kaine countered this argument by questioning whether Afrikaner farmers are indeed the most persecuted group globally, highlighting concerns over prioritization.
This fierce domestic battle comes just ahead of crucial diplomacy on the international stage. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet Trump in the White House as soon as next week. However, how these debates are ultimately resolved will do much to shape perceptions and thus policies on race, as well as the direction of refugee admissions.