The Trump administration officials welcomed a group of 59 white South Africans as refugees at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Monday. The group, which includes children, was greeted by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar.
The Afrikaners who faced discrimination and violence in South Africa, arrived on a State Department-chartered plane and were greeted with American flags and balloons. In his remarks to the refugees, Landau emphasized the importance of assimilation and the welcoming nature of the American people.
Trump has slammed the South African government for discriminating against the white minority population and seizing their lands. He had promised to help the Afrikaners who are facing "race-based persecution" and "genocide" to seek asylum in the U.S.
Monday's arrival of the Afrikaners however, triggered far-left pro-open-borders activists and groups. The Episcopal Church announced it will not assist in the resettlement of the white South Africans, bizarrely citing its "commitment to racial justice and reconciliation," and claiming that it cannot support the preferential treatment of this group over other refugees.
The Trump administration reiterated it does not discriminate based on race in admitting refugees. And other critics called out Episcopal Church's hypocrisy, pointing out that it has been aiding and abetting the illegal immigration of violent criminal gangbangers and child traffickers into the U.S.
The Episcopal group, which has long been involved in refugee resettlement, also decided to end its partnership with the federal government's refugee resettlement program. The church's Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe claimed that the church's commitment to racial justice and its historical ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa prevent it from participating in this resettlement.
However many anti-illegal immigration activists welcomed the group's decision, and urged the Trump administration to take this opportunity and cut all ties to the group and others like it who facilitate illegal immigration into the country.
