Latest news with #U.S.RefugeeAdmissionsProgram
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Episcopal Church Takes a Shocking Stand On Trump's Resettling of White South Africans
Black folks aren't the only ones offended by President Donald Trump's move to welcome dozens of white South Africans into the country. The Episcopal Church is now refusing to comply with his orders, and as a consequence, the decades-long relationship between the church and the U.S. government will likely never be the same. The Episcopal Church's almost 40-year relationship with the government revolves around Episcopal Migration Ministries, which receives federal funding to help immigrants from around the world. But Trump's resettlement of 59 white South Africans threw a wrench in the system for a few notable reasons. In a letter sent to church members on Monday, Rev. Sean W. Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said the church will not be used as a political tool for the administration. 'Since January, the previously bipartisan U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in which we participate has essentially shut down,' Rev. Rowe wrote. 'Virtually no new refugees have arrived, hundreds of staff in resettlement agencies around the country have been laid off, and funding for resettling refugees who have already arrived has been uncertain.' Then, the Trump administration contacted them just over two weeks ago. 'The federal government informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees,' Rowe continued. '... 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.' Fifty-nine white South Africans — known as Afrikaners — were welcomed with balloons, American flags and practically a red carpet rolled out on Monday (May 12). As The Root previously reported, the move drew backlash from folks who remembered Afrikaners' brutal rule over native South Africans until 1994. You know who else remembered the violence of apartheid? The Episcopal Church. The church has now refused to assist in their resettlement citing their 'steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa,' the letter said, also referring to the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was vocal against apartheid in South Africa. Rowe then vowed to end the church's contract for federal funding by September of this year. Rowe is clearly standing on business, stating that he won't compromise the moral integrity of the church. 'As Christians, we must be guided not by political vagaries,' he wrote. Instead, the church will invest 'our resources in serving migrants in other ways.' Since the letter's publishing, MAGA supporters, like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, have come out demanding the church's funds be revoked in defiance. Trump has not publicly responded to the Episcopal Church's letter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Episcopal Church won't resettle white Afrikaner refugees in US
The Episcopal Church said Monday it would not help resettle white South African refugees in the U.S. because of its 'commitment to racial justice and reconciliation.' The denomination cited its moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa classified as refugees by President Donald Trump's administration as the reason behind the decision to withdraw from the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe — the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church — told church membership the administration had made it known they would be expected to resettle white Afrikaners as part of previously agreed-to deal. The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an opponent of apartheid is South Africa, was one of the leaders of the global Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part. The church completely divested from companies that do business in the county in the 1980s. '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 in a letter. '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.' 'It has been painful to watch one group of refugees (the Afrikaners), selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,' Rowe wrote. Shortly after the letter was published a charter plane with 59 Afrikaners landed at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. Rowe said it would use its resources to help immigrants and refugees in other ways. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump froze most refugee programs and stopped payments to organizations. A number of faith-based refugee resettlement groups are suing the administration. However, the administration also fast-tracked refugee status to white South Africans, who jumped ahead of other would-be refugees who had been undergoing years of vetting and processing. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who was part of the delegation that received the new refugees at Dulles, said they were accepted because they would be 'assimilated easily.' The South Africa's Black-led government and many white religious leaders in the country have denied the Trump administration's claims of white Afrikaners facing discrimination in the country. _____
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Episcopal Church won't resettle white Afrikaner refugees in US
The Episcopal Church said Monday it would not help resettle white South African refugees in the U.S. because of its 'commitment to racial justice and reconciliation.' The denomination cited its moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa classified as refugees by President Donald Trump's administration as the reason behind the decision to withdraw from the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe — the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church — told church membership the administration had made it known they would be expected to resettle white Afrikaners as part of previously agreed-to deal. The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an opponent of apartheid is South Africa, was one of the leaders of the global Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part. The church completely divested from companies that do business in the county in the 1980s. '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 in a letter. '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.' 'It has been painful to watch one group of refugees (the Afrikaners), selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,' Rowe wrote. Shortly after the letter was published a charter plane with 59 Afrikaners landed at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. Rowe said it would use its resources to help immigrants and refugees in other ways. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump froze most refugee programs and stopped payments to organizations. A number of faith-based refugee resettlement groups are suing the administration. However, the administration also fast-tracked refugee status to white South Africans, who jumped ahead of other would-be refugees who had been undergoing years of vetting and processing. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who was part of the delegation that received the new refugees at Dulles, said they were accepted because they would be 'assimilated easily.' The South Africa's Black-led government and many white religious leaders in the country have denied the Trump administration's claims of white Afrikaners facing discrimination in the country. _____
Fox News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Abrego Garcia: The poster child for the Left's demands of endless ‘due process'
During the Biden administration, the Left and its media allies tried to erase the line between legal and illegal aliens, calling all aliens "noncitizens." Now they're attempting to confuse the distinction between criminal and civil proceedings and rights regarding deportable aliens to stoke opposition to the Trump administration's actions. In so doing, the Left is using Kilmar Abrego Garcia as their poster child to demand "more due process." It's time to correct this intended confusion and show just how much due process aliens receive. When an alien becomes deportable – either because they entered the U.S. illegally, overstayed their temporary visa, committed a crime, committed fraud, participated in terrorist activity, or other reasons – ICE charges the alien with ground(s) of deportability, which initiates removal proceedings with the Justice Department's administrative immigration court system. These are civil proceedings, not criminal. The administrative immigration judges are Justice Department employees in the executive branch; they are not federal judges under the Article III Judiciary of the U.S. Constitution. That means deportable aliens in deportation proceedings do not have the same rights as a person in a criminal trial, such as being innocent until proven guilty, the right to a taxpayer funded public defendant, etc. Removing a deportable alien is not a criminal sentence. Within the civil, immigration context, Congress, on behalf of the American people, has legislated scores of ways to temporarily and permanently come to the U.S. – lawfully. Foreigners abroad can apply for visas to visit, study, work or join family here in the U.S. If they are fleeing persecution, they can apply for refugee protection through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Once in the U.S., aliens can also apply to DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for asylum, work authorization, "green cards" (permanent immigrant visas), naturalization and more immigration benefits. What will surprise most Americans is that deportable aliens in immigration court proceedings have yet a third opportunity to apply for immigration benefits. After an immigration judge finds the alien is deportable as charged (most deportable aliens concede their charges), the alien can request "relief from deportation" by applying for asylum or a green card with the judge. If granted, ICE's request for removal is denied, the alien is given the immigration benefit and remains in the country. That is, unless the alien subsequently commits another deportable offense. Then, ICE can repeat the process. Now consider Abrego Garcia's case. He didn't follow Congress' "due process" by applying for a visa or refugee protection before coming to the U.S. Instead, he snuck across the border around 2011. He did not go to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to seek asylum within his first year in the U.S., an important and commonsense time-limitation Congress imposed to prevent asylum fraud. If you were really fleeing for your life, one would reasonably expect you would request protection soon after arriving here. But Garcia didn't follow that due process either. Eight years later, he was arrested in a Maryland Home Depot parking lot, after police suspected suspicious activity by a small group of men and found discarded marijuana under a vehicle. The Gang Unit assisting at the scene filled out a Gang Field Interview Sheet and alleged that Abrego Garcia was an active member of the MS-13 gang. The police turned him over to ICE, which detained him, initiated deportation proceedings, and opposed his release on bond, arguing he was a danger to the community based on the gang report. An immigration judge denied bond in April 2019, citing the gang report as trustworthy evidence. Then, Garcia sought asylum and withholding of removal with an immigration judge as a defense from removal. He claimed he would be persecuted by another gang in El Salvador, Barrio 18. The immigration judge denied asylum because he violated the one-year time bar, but granted the more limited withholding of removal, released him from ICE custody, and issued a final order of removal to any country except "Guatemala." This was the clerical error – the order should have read "El Salvador." Despite that due process, Garcia continued to violate the law. In May 2021, his wife sought a temporary protective order against him in Prince George's County, Maryland. Then, in December 2022, the Tennessee Highway Patrol stopped him for speeding and failing to maintain his lane. The officer suspected human trafficking due to eight other individuals in the SUV with no luggage, despite traveling from Houston to Maryland. The owner of the SUV was a confessed human smuggler. Garcia was released with a warning for an expired license after the FBI instructed that he be released. President Donald Trump has designated MS-13 a foreign terrorist organization. This negated Garcia's limited protection from being removed to El Salvador under the Immigration and Nationality Act. And so, the Trump administration removed him to El Salvador. The Left demands Abrego Garcia be returned to the U.S. and receive his due process. Once again, they are being dishonest with the American public. They ignore the fact that Garcia didn't follow the process due Americans to seek a visa or refugee protection to come here lawfully. Nor do they admit that he failed to request asylum soon after his illegal entry. And they fail to acknowledge that Garcia already received due process at his third opportunity. He is owed no more. Abrego Garcia's immigration case is not at all unique. Too many aliens ignore lawful processes to come to the U.S. or to follow it once here. Instead, they demand process if and when they are eventually caught by ICE. The fact that the Left has made this criminal gang member their poster child for due process has only opened more Americans' eyes to the complete abuse of our immigration system.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah refugee resettlement program finds self-sufficiency amid federal funding cuts
Catholic Community Services' refugee resettlement program raised $1.5 million to keep assisting refugees amid federal cuts. (Courtesy of Catholic Community Services) It takes Aden Batar, the director of migration and refugee services at Catholic Community Services, at least a couple of minutes just to list all of the ways the refugee resettlement program he runs assists refugees coming to Utah. The program's goal has always been clear — to allow refugees to reach self-sufficiency amid extraordinary circumstances. The initiative has been alive for more than 45 years in the state, but after the Trump administration took charge this year, it was left without its most substantial funding source, federal funding — at least temporarily. The organization announced on Monday it will continue operating with the help of private donations amounting to more than $1.5 million. That's more than half of what the federal government funded before President Donald Trump signed an order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and freezing resettlement funding. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Utahns moved fast after Catholic Community Services announced in early April it was winding down its refugee resettlement program, which annually assists about 600 families in securing housing, jobs, school enrollment, health care, and provides mentorship to teach American laws, English, and other immigration resources. 'The families were coming from all over the world in every war that happened in the world, like, for example, the most recent war in Ukraine, Afghanistan, in Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Congo, many parts of the world,' Batar said. If the organization is able to raise $1 million more, it would allow them to transition to a smaller, self-sustaining program to keep on working on the mission for the next four years, Batar said. 'We're going to continue to support the families that we have that have come the last two years, and we're going to continue to support the families by providing the necessary services that they need,' Batar said. 'We want them to keep their housing. We want them to have a job so they can pay their bills.' The work of his office starts after the Department of Homeland Security grants entry to migrants fleeing conflict, providing the essentials, like a furnished home in anticipation of their arrival and food and later giving them tools to thrive in the country. 'While the program will operate at a reduced capacity, its core services—and the impact on the lives of those we serve—remain as vital as ever,' the organization wrote in a blog post. 'This transformation ensures we can uphold our mission while adapting to a changing national landscape.' Even with the abrupt freeze in funding, the organization hasn't turned anyone away. However, the program still took a big hit and had to lay off 50% of its staff. It's still uncertain whether the Trump administration will resume the admissions of refugees, with the executive order issued on Jan. 20 stating that it 'suspends the (U.S. Refugee Admissions Program) until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.' Within 90 days of the order, however, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State are required to submit a report to the president advising on whether to bring back the refugee admissions program. But, that deadline already passed on April 20, and Catholic Community Services can't wait for the funding to come back to keep its doors open, Batar said. There are roughly 70,000 refugees in Utah and the majority of them went through this program, he added. 'They are all productive members of our society. They successfully integrated into our community. They have jobs, they have businesses, they're doing really well. So the program is a life-saving program, and we would like this program to continue,' he said. 'We are appealing to our administration to open this program again, and so we could serve as many refugees as we can.' The organization is also asking the community to help raise the funds to continue the critical services that have helped thousands of refugees settle in the state for decades, Batar said, and to Trump to look at the issue from a compassionate point of view, and to allow the admission of new refugees in the country. 'We are here to help them. Our community wants to help them,' he said. 'But the administration has to allow the refugees to come.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
