Latest news with #U.S.CommitteeforRefugeesandImmigrants
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
White South Africans given refugee status by Trump to resettle in Idaho, while other refugees remain barred from U.S.
May 12—WASHINGTON — Two families of white South Africans whom President Donald Trump has designated as refugees arrived in the United States on Monday, en route to their new homes in southern Idaho. The nine soon-to-be Idahoans are part of a group of about 50 Afrikaners, an ethnic group descended from European settlers, who landed at a Virginia airport to start new lives in the United States through a humanitarian program the Trump administration has suspended for virtually all other people. The Idaho Office for Refugees, a private organization that coordinates resettlement in the state, confirmed that the families will settle in Twin Falls with the help of the nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, or USCRI. "USCRI has provided services to refugees and immigrants for over 100 years, and we'll continue to do our part regardless of country of origin," Eskinder Negash, the nonprofit's president and CEO, said in a statement. "We are hopeful that the arrival of this group of refugees indicates the government's intention to restart the U.S. refugee program and help other refugees in need of resettlement services." Holly Beech, communications manager at the Idaho Office for Refugees, said on Monday that "by and large," the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is still suspended, leaving people who have already been vetted and approved to reunite with their relatives in Idaho and other states unable to enter the country. "The suspension has been devastating for our Idaho communities and for people overseas that have waited years to resettle, and had that approval and had that assurance, and are now in limbo," Beech said by phone. Trump suspended refugee admissions by executive order on his first day in office, citing "public safety" and saying that his administration would "admit only those refugees who can fully and appropriately assimilate into the United States." In welcome remarks at Dulles International Airport on Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau referred to those criteria and, noting that many of the Afrikaners are farmers by trade, likened them to "quality seeds" that will thrive "in foreign soil." In another executive order on Feb. 7, Trump decried "egregious" racial discrimination by the South African government against Afrikaners, an ethnic minority that ruled the country until the 1990s under the apartheid regime. The U.S. president pointed to a 2024 law that allows the South African government to redistribute land, which is still disproportionately owned by white South Africans more than 30 years after the end of apartheid. "I want you all to know that you are really welcome here and that we respect what you have had to deal with these last few years," Landau told the Afrikaners. "We respect the long tradition of your people and what you have accomplished over the years. And I am sure that you will be successful." No land has yet been seized under the controversial law, which is being challenged in court by the second-largest party in the country's unity government. Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump said he decided to designate the Afrikaners as refugees "because they're being killed." "It's a genocide that's taking place that you people don't want to write about," Trump told reporters. "Farmers are being killed. They happen to be white, but whether they're white or black makes no difference to me. But white farmers are being brutally killed and their land is being confiscated in South Africa." In February, a group of more than 150 white South African Christian religious leaders signed a letter denouncing Trump's executive order and rejecting his claim "The narrative presented by the U.S. government is founded on fabrications, distortions, and outright lies," the leaders wrote. "It does not reflect the reality of our country and, if anything, serves to heighten existing tensions in South Africa. It also detracts from the important work of building safer, healthier communities and addressing the complex history of land dispossession by white Europeans from the black African majority." In a statement issued Friday, South Africa's Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation called the Trump administration's allegations of discrimination "unfounded." "It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being 'refugees' is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa's constitutional democracy," the agency said, while adding that the Afrikaners were free to leave the country. Black and white farmers alike have been subject to frequent attacks in South Africa, which has among the world's highest rates of murder and other violent crime. Because the roughly 7% of South Africans who are white disproportionately work as farmers, often in remote locations not easily accessed by police, the attacks have fueled claims of "white genocide." Despite Trump's professed indifference to the race of the farmers, only one racial group was represented among the first wave of refugees his administration said it would admit by repurposing the Preferred Communities program. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, that program is intended for refugees "with challenging needs that require special attention, including those with serious medical conditions, women at risk, and elderly refugees." While Trump and his allies in Congress have criticized the criteria for admitting refugees and asylum seekers under current U.S. law as overly broad, the application lets South Africans request refugee status due to either "past persecution" or merely "fear of future harm based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group." Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from Spokane who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he supports Trump's effort to welcome the Afrikaners to the United States but sees a broader logic to the move. "My understanding is that the administration is seeking to give these folks refugee status both, probably, as just a basic human-rights issue but also as leverage in diplomatic negotiations with the South African government," Baumgartner said by phone. "We would like them and other African countries to be aligned with us on any number of issues." Trump alluded to some of those issues in his Feb. 7 executive order, accusing South Africa of taking "aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies," such as accusing Israel in the International Criminal Court of committing genocide during the ongoing war in Gaza. Baumgartner said he wants to see refugee resettlement resume, especially for people from Afghanistan and Ukraine who, he said, "fit the traditional, accurate definition of refugees." He said the Afrikaners also fit that definition. "They are attacked by their government because of their race and their culture," he said. "And they don't have a lot of great options on where to go." Baumgartner recalled that when he worked as a State Department contractor in Afghanistan, a U.S. Agency for International Development program to educate Afghan farmers was run by displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe, where the government seized land starting in 2000 in a project for which the Zimbabwean government began compensating those farmers earlier this year. Democrats have accused Trump of applying a double standard by welcoming white South Africans while barring refugees from the rest of the world. In a statement, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that "the decision by this administration to put one group at the front of the line is clearly politically motivated and an effort to rewrite history." Chandra Upreti, director of the USCRI field office in Twin Falls, said by phone that the Afrikaners should begin arriving in the southern Idaho city sometime this week, although he didn't know exactly when. "Twin Falls is a welcoming community and we have opened our doors and our hearts to people from all over the world for the last 45 years," Upreti said. "My wife and I both grew up in a refugee camp with no country to call our own, until we resettled in Twin Falls, and today we proudly call this community our home. We own a business, and are incredibly thankful for the support we have received upon our arrival. As the director of the refugee center, I'm dedicated to offer the same warm welcome my family was fortunate to receive 17 years ago, and we remain committed to providing services to our newcomers, just like any other refugees that have resettled." He said the newly arrived South Africans will receive the same services as other refugees. In the last fiscal year, he said, 242 refugees were resettled in Twin Falls, which Upreti said has both the capacity and community support to welcome people from around the world. "The widespread coverage of this news has sparked hope among some of the refugees from various backgrounds who are awaiting resettlement, and it reinforces our belief in the importance of continuing refugee resettlement efforts for those seeking safety in the first place," Upreti said. "It's our hope that we continue to do great work and continue to bring in folks from different parts of the world." Speaking at Dulles Airport, Landau said the resettlement of the Afrikaners sends "a clear message that the United States really rejects the egregious persecution of people on the basis of race in South Africa, and we welcome these people to the United States and to a new future." "Whether or not the broader refugee programs for other people around the world will be lifted," he added, "is still an ongoing consideration." Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
Axios
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Trump admin. owes Mass. refugee resettlement groups millions
The Trump administration owes Massachusetts-based refugee resettlement organizations millions of dollars in payments. Why it matters: Local nonprofit leaders say the federal government is trying to bleed them dry to end the nation's decades-old refugee resettlement program. Catch up quick: A federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked efforts to suspend the refugee resettlement program last Tuesday, ruling that the president doesn't have the power to unilaterally end a program enshrined in federal law. A day later, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants received a letter from the State Department's comptroller announcing its contracts were being terminated, per a copy provided to Axios. Judge Jamal N. Whitehead in Seattle questioned the Trump administration's move last week, considering his order prevented the feds from suspending the program and related payments. State of play: Refugee resettlement agencies, including subcontracted organizations in Massachusetts, have been blocked from receiving refugees since President Trump's inauguration, but they were owed money under these contracts. Jeff Thielman, CEO of the International Institute of New England, estimates that the feds owe his organization $1.3 million so far, including funds for receiving and placing refugees and offering employment support. Jewish Family Services of Western Massachusetts is owed roughly $900,000, says CEO James Greene. That doesn't include funds issued to organizations serving refugees in the Framingham, Boston and other cities. JFS pieced together fundraising from across Western Massachusetts to keep its operations running, but Greene noted that support won't keep the organization afloat for long. Money from fundraising and reserves is keeping IINE going, but Thielman expressed similar concerns that it would need to downsize if the feds didn't pay what was owed. How it works: Refugee resettlement agencies and the local nonprofits they partner with rely heavily on government funding. The funds support refugees, who have been vetted before arriving in the U.S. In Massachusetts, some funds help them cover move-in fees as they settle in and find work. The money also funds staff at the organizations, workforce training and other programs meant to help them integrate into American schools and jobs. The program has also worked with Afghans who received visas after helping the U.S. military in Afghanistan, as well as a growing number of Ukrainians, Haitians, Venezuelans and other migrants who fled crises and obtained temporary protections. What we're watching: Whitehead, the federal judge, ordered the Trump administration to produce a status report by Monday on how it's resuming refugee resettlement. If the Trump administration fails to pay up, local refugee resettlement organizations may turn to the state legislature for help obtaining additional funds. Massachusetts leaders are already raising concerns about the $16 billion in federal funding baked into Gov. Maura Healey's proposed fiscal 2026 budget — funding that may be subject to the whims of the Trump administration.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump cuts cost a Raleigh nonprofit 30 valuable workers. How is this efficiency?
Thirty people were laid off at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Raleigh where I volunteered. They were serving folks who are new to the country. They were dedicated and hardworking. Now refugees are left with fewer resources, and hardworking Americans are without jobs. How is this efficiency? Our present government seems Hell bent on destroying the infrastructure that has served our country well. This is creating chaos and destruction. Meanwhile, Congress does nothing. I appeal to them to stand up for the American people. Elizabeth Norval, Raleigh Senator Thom Tillis delivered an impassioned speech damning Russia's murderous conduct in Ukraine. Nonetheless, he reaffirmed his support for President Donald Trump's national security policies. These issues are not esoteric given the North Carolina's large military-connected population. North Carolinians deserve to know does Tillis support the annexation of Greenland? Of Canada? Is he concerned about the firing of senior officers? What of DOGE cuts to soft power agencies, the defense workforce, and the VA? In response to the latter issue, it would be enlightening to know whether Tillis ruminates over the potential effects to N.C. veterans who served during the height of the Global War on Terrorism. For the military-connected, these matters are real — decisions will disproportionately affect their lives. But, the national security decisions are not limited to these cohorts. There will be economic and personal impacts across the state. North Carolinians deserve to know where Tillis stands with the same passionate clarity. Robert Runyans, Raleigh Having read that state House Speaker Destin Hall through House Bill 92 wants to take up to 10% of teacher and state retiree funds to invest in cryptocurrency is shocking. North Carolina has one of the highest rated pension plans in the U.S. It earned that by careful investments. The plan is funded by the state employees, not by taxes. The pension plan belongs to retired state employees. Legislators should keep their hands off. Cryptocurrency is not known to be sound. Leave my money alone! Carolyn Davis, Raleigh The U.S. government has not paid invoices to USAID partners since the inauguration for work under Congress-approved contracts done before the inauguration. Thousands of NC jobs are at risk as firms face downsizing or closure. I was furloughed despite a two-decade career with USAID partners. Firms in NC are fourth largest among partners in the US, and we are facing the impacts of the U.S. not paying its bills. Financial institutions are now questioning whether the government will honor its obligations, increasing discount rates for credit. Banks have lost confidence in America's reliability to pay its bills. Consequences will spread. This isn't partisan. It's about contract law and honoring commitments. When the government breaks promises, we suffer. The work was approved by Congress, done in good faith, and the government needs to pay its bills. Call your senators today. Demand the Republican administration meets its obligations. Jobs, businesses and financial security in NC are on the line. Kirsten Weeks, Durham The meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance was a horrifying embarrassment for our country. Zelensky maintained dignity and poise while the other two berated him like schoolyard bullies. Trump's language became unhinged and Vance played along. I imagine Vance's children watching his shameful behavior, and I mourn the loss of dignity and the rise of disgusting cruelty in the White House. Republican leaders continue to show they lack backbones to honor their vows to our Constitution and stand up for humanity. Shame on them all. Sarah Carrier, Chapel Hill I cannot believe my vote in the state Supreme Court race is still in question. I have voted consistently in the past four elections at my designated polling station without issue. However, my vote is now being questioned. This concerns me as I have diligently followed all procedures. Why is my vote is being scrutinized? I have not been provided any information as to how to resolve the issue. I voted in person and did not have any questions about my ballot. I want to ensure my voice is heard and my rights are upheld. Lihn Calhoun, Chapel Hill
