Rubio Defends Refugee Status for Afrikaners Amid Accusations of Racial Bias in U.S. Asylum Policy

Washington, D.C. — May 21: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday staunchly defended the Trump administration’s decision to admit 59 Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees, following pointed criticism from Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who accused the administration of offering preferential treatment based on race.

The exchange unfolded during Rubio’s first appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since his confirmation in January and quickly became one of the session’s most combative moments.

“Right now, the U.S. refugee program allows a special program for Afrikaner farmers, the first group of whom arrived at Dulles airport in Virginia not long ago, while shutting off the refugee program for everyone else,” said Kaine, who served as Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election. “Do you think Afrikaner farmers are the most persecuted group in the world?”

In response, Rubio asserted that those granted asylum had met all legal requirements. “I think those 49 people that came surely felt they were persecuted, and they’ve passed … every sort of check mark that had to be checked off in terms of meeting their requirements for that,” Rubio said. “They live in a country where farms are taken, the land is taken, on a racial basis.”

The move to admit white South African farmers came under particular scrutiny given former President Donald Trump’s repeated and unsubstantiated claims that they were victims of “genocide.” Meanwhile, Trump’s administration had suspended broader refugee resettlement programs, affecting more than 100,000 previously approved applicants from conflict zones around the world.

Kaine challenged the disparity, citing the persecution faced by Uyghurs in China, Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and political dissidents in countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. He also pointed to Afghans endangered under Taliban rule.

“The problem we face there is the volume problem,” Rubio replied. “If you look at all the persecuted people of the world, it’s millions of people. They can’t all come here.”

Kaine sharply criticized the credibility of the persecution claims made by the Afrikaners, calling them “completely specious,” and noted the presence of an Afrikaner minister in South Africa’s coalition government as evidence of political inclusion.

“There never has there been a special programme for Africans to come in as refugees to the United States,” Kaine added, contrasting the current policy with U.S. practices during South Africa’s apartheid era. He pointed out that special designations were historically granted to those persecuted for religious reasons under communist regimes.

Referring to the legal definition of a refugee — someone with a “well-justified fear of persecution” — Kaine pressed further: “Should that be applied in an even-handed way? For example, should we say if you’re persecuted on the grounds of your religion, we’ll let you in if you’re a Christian but not a Muslim?”

Rubio countered: “The United States has a right to allow into this country and prioritise allowance of who they want to allow to come in. We’re going to prioritise people coming into our country on the basis of what’s in the interests of this country. That’s a small number of people that are coming.”

When Kaine questioned whether it was acceptable to apply different standards based on race, Rubio responded: “You’re the one talking about the colour of their skin, not me.”

The hearing also saw a forceful rebuke from Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who expressed regret over supporting Rubio’s confirmation.

“You try to block the admission of people who have already been approved as refugees, while making bogus claims to justify such status to Afrikaners. You’ve made a mockery of our country’s refugee process, turning it into a system of global apartheid,” Van Hollen charged.

He echoed concerns over what he termed racially skewed policies, citing the rejection of asylum seekers from war-torn regions in Africa and Asia, while extending protection to white South Africans.

According to the Review of Black Economy, white South Africans — who comprise 7% of the country’s 63 million people — control on average 20 times more wealth than their Black counterparts, who represent 81% of the population. Unemployment among Black South Africans currently stands at 46.1%, compared to 9.2% among whites.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa is scheduled to meet former President Donald Trump at the White House, a meeting expected to be politically sensitive in light of the controversy surrounding the admission of the Afrikaner group.