May 12, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Read: Episcopal Church won't help Trump admin resettle white Afrikaners

Sareen Habeshian

DULLES, VIRGINIA - MAY 12: Newly arrived South Africans listen to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar (R) deliver welcome statements in a hangar at Atlantic Aviation Dulles near Washington Dulles International Airport on May 12, 2025 in — Newly arrived South Africans listen to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar (R) on May 12 in Dulles, Virginia. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Episcopal Church refused to help the federal government resettle white South Africans who were granted refugee status by the Trump administration, according to a letter shared by the denomination on Monday.

The big picture: The administration welcomed the first group of Afrikaner refugees into the U.S. on Monday, citing unjust racial discrimination the ethnic group has allegedly been facing — claims South Africa's government denies.

Driving the news: The presiding bishop of the denomination, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, said in a letter to church members the government informed it two weeks ago that the church was "expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees" under the terms of its federal grant.

Rowe said the denomination was unable to do so "in light of our church's steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa."
The church has accordingly determined that it will conclude its refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. government by the end of the fiscal year, he added.

Zoom in: "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," wrote Rowe, whose church is part of the global Anglican Communion that included the late South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment Monday evening.

Context: Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that dominated South African politics during the apartheid era, have claimed they were denied jobs and faced violence because of their race.

Asked why there's an expedited path into the country for Afrikaners but not for others, President Trump told reporters on Monday, "Because they're being killed. And we don't want to see people be killed ... it's a genocide that's taking place.
A South African court determined in February that claims of a white genocide in the country are not true.

Flashback: The Episcopal Church denounced Trump's family separation policy earlier this year, and said it will "continue to provide practical pathways to protect the most vulnerable among us."

Read the letter in full, via DocumentCloud:

Go deeper: Trump administration welcomed white Afrikaners while ending Afghan protections

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