Amo, Jacobs Demand Answers from State About Reports of Trump’s Racist Refugee Program Preferences
In January, President Donald Trump halted the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, then restarted the program exclusively for White South African Afrikaners
PROVIDENCE, RI – TODAY, Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI) and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA) called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain reports of a morally reprehensible policy to only allow South Africans of White descent to enter the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
Amo and Jacobs “write to express our profound alarm and strong, fundamental opposition to reports that the Department of State has implemented a refugee program that President Trump established solely for eligible South Africans of ethnic White descent.1 If true, this policy is inherently and unacceptably racist, morally indefensible, and undermines core purposes of the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).”
“On January 20, 2025, the first day of his second term in office, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order that suspended the USRAP, effectively eliminating the ability of the United States to conduct orderly, secure, and vital refugee admissions into the United States. His order also resulted in cuts to federal funding to local organizations providing support for refugees in our communities. President Trump’s order cancelled flights for refugees already approved to move to America. It left refugees stranded and at continued risk of harm and abandoned many of our Afghan allies and their families.”
“Under the President’s leadership, refugee admissions have restarted primarily for only one country, South Africa.”
“We are horrified that the storied U.S. Refugee Admissions Program no longer helps the numerous vulnerable people around the world who face active identity-based persecution, including as a result of civil or inter-state armed conflict, and is instead being used as a racist policy tool to promote unjustified claims. We urgently demand that you immediately stop this racially discriminatory policy and resume all USRAP activities that were under way or otherwise active or applicable prior to the issuance of Executive Order 14163 of January 20, 2025.”
The full letter can be found here.
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