The Episcopal Church is ending its refugee resettlement partnership with the federal government over the Trump administration’s “preferential treatment” of white South Africans.
In a letter to church members Monday, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe objected to the administration‘s call to help resettle white Afrikaners while refugee admissions from many other countries remain on hold.
“In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,” Rowe wrote. “Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government.”
Rowe took issue with the selective nature of the Trump administration’s approach to white South Africans’ refugee claims.
“It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,” he wrote.
After the first flight of white South Africans to the U.S. departed on Sunday, Trump claimed baselessly that their ethnic group were victims of “genocide.” In February, he had outlined a “rapid pathway to Citizenship” after South-African born Elon Musk raised the issue to him.
Rowe, in his letter, also criticized other aspects of Trump’s hardline approach to migrants.
“I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country,” he wrote. “I also grieve that victims of religious persecution, including Christians, have not been granted refuge in recent months.”
Though the Episcopal Church has aided immigrants to the U.S. since the late 1800s, the Episcopal Migration Ministries was formally established in the 1980s, according to its website. The group says it has helped more than 100,000 people resettle in the U.S.
Rowe said that the church would still be investing its resources to help migrants in other ways, but acknowledged the huge loss in federal funds—more than $50 million annually—could not be “bridged with donor funds or proceeds from investments.”
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