The Episcopal Church announced it will end its partnership with the U.S. government on refugee resettlement efforts, specifically over the proposal to resettle a group of white Afrikaners following the administration’s suspension of the U.S. refugee program.
Episcopal Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe issued a letter on Monday concerning Episcopal Migration Ministries, which manages the denomination’s refugee resettlement programs. Rowe stated that the Trump administration had notified them a few weeks prior, indicating that, according to the conditions of their federal grant, they were supposed to assist in resettling a group of white Afrikaners from South Africa, who had been designated as refugees under a February executive order.
This order accused the South African government of seizing land from white landowners without providing compensation. The Afrikaners are an ethnic group primarily descended from Dutch settlers who migrated to South Africa during the 1600s. This decision comes after President Donald Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program shortly after taking office in January, which left tens of thousands of approved asylum seekers in limbo.
Rowe emphasized the church’s stance, writing, “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.” He added that “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 expressed concern about the prioritization of “a ‘group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner,’ getting ‘preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years.’” He also stated, “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 concluded that “Now that we are ending our involvement in federally funded refugee resettlement, we have asked the administration to work toward a mutual agreement that will allow us to wind down all federally funded services by the end of the federal fiscal year in September.”
The letter also highlighted that shortly after Trump began his second term, EMM announced that it would cut 22 staff members and wind down its refugee resettlement programs due to the president issuing an executive order suspending refugee resettlement. Rowe described this as “a painful decision” and stated that “the entity will retain a small team to manage the wind down of EMM’s federal grant-sponsored programs.”
Recently, reports indicated that the Trump administration was planning to resettle small numbers of white South Africans in the United States, asserting that “the black-led South African government is engaging in anti-white policies.”
Church World Service, an international Christian humanitarian organization, expressed its concern over the prioritization of white Afrikaners over other refugee groups. Rick Santos, president and CEO of CWS, said in a statement last week that “by resettling this population, the Government is demonstrating that it still has the capacity to quickly screen, process, and depart refugees to the United States,” adding, “It’s time for the Administration to honor our nation’s commitment to the thousands of refugee families it abandoned with its cruel and illegal executive order.”
