Latest news with #USRefugeeAdmissionsProgram
The South African
2 days ago
- Politics
- The South African
South African 'attacked' in US after being mistaken for 'refugee'
A South African living in the US has recounted how she was almost attacked by Americans after being mistaken for a 'refugee'. This comes after two groups of white South Africans were granted asylum in the US under President Donald Trump's administration. The resettlement programme is open to racial minorities who have voiced their 'fear of persecution' over claims of a 'white genocide' and 'racial discrimination' in the country. On her TikTok account, South African woman Dharma Houston shared her harrowing account of being targeted by Americans over her nationality. She said, 'I just got attacked in a grocery store because someone asked me where I was from. And I said 'South Africa''. She continued: 'One of the workers got up and said, 'You should not be allowed in our country. They should never have let you in. They should never have granted you refugee status.' The woman added, 'I'm not a refugee. This is what it's going to become. Everyone is going to hate South Africans.' @homesickandhot This is coming from genuine confusion not hate ♬ original sound – Dharma Houston Meanwhile, US media are reporting that President Trump is ramping up his plan to grant 1000 white Afrikaners 'refugee status' as part of the resettlement programme. This comes as the Trump administration indefinitely halted the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) to all other countries earlier this year. Around 1000 Afrikaners will be granted 'refugees status' in the US. This comes after President Trump halted resettlement programmes to other countries. Images via X: @usembassysa According to the Washington Post , a state department spokesperson said officials were 'prioritising the US refugee resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination'. The administration is also moving to block entry for 160 refugees from other countries that had been scheduled to arrive in the US before Trump halted their admission. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Malay Mail
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
As international actors step back, it is time for Malaysia to lead on refugee protection — Melati Nungsari, Kirstine Rahma Varming, Shre Maha Manohar
KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — It is time for us to discuss the changing landscape surrounding refugee rights and protection worldwide and Malaysia's potential to be a leading nation in this landscape. Earlier this year, the UN Refugee Agency proclaimed that severe funding cuts at the agency are putting refugees at increased risk for harm and danger. The United States, previously a beacon of hope for refugees worldwide, has suspended its Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) under President Donald Trump's second reign, which began in January of this year. This programme – the largest refugee resettlement programme in the world – was the main funnel through which refugees in Malaysia could gain permanent resettlement. This leaves us with the question: so what now? Malaysia's informality has been a blessing to the approximately 190,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in the country. Though they are incorrectly and unfairly lumped with 'illegal migrants', and though their rights are limited, refugees do have mobility across geographical areas in the country and are not confined to refugee camps, and they can access paid opportunities in the grey economy. The fact is that all working refugees in Malaysia contribute to the Malaysian economy as hidden (and typically exploited) labour. These are the important facets of refugee life here that are good, but there are negative sides to the coin: fear and danger of arrests, no access to affordable healthcare or education, and the constant feeling of impermanence and lack of legal status – belonging neither here nor there. This impermanence, however, is vanishing into a state of 'fixedness'. Despite being a non-signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Malaysia has allowed refugees in on humanitarian grounds. Although Malaysia's stance has always been that we are an intermediate host country, this is no longer accurate. The reality is that for the past 20 years, only 7.1 per cent of refugees registered with the UN Refugee Agency in Malaysia were resettled abroad. Out of those resettled in 2024, UN data show that 76.3 per cent went to the United States. With this door now closed, resettlement out of Malaysia is increasingly unrealistic as a 'durable solution'. The presence and permanency of refugee communities can no longer be ignored without severe consequences – not only for individual refugees, but also for the coherence and continued prosperity of Malaysian society. Keeping a growing population estranged and increasingly hopeless on the fringes of society is unjust and unsustainable, and there is much to gain from improving long-term inclusion opportunities. President Trump's severe funding cuts for international bodies, including the UN Refugee Agency, present another challenge to the status quo for Malaysia and its refugee community. These cuts have led to significant downsizing and underfunding of existing programmes, including efforts to support the Malaysian government in formulating and implementing a comprehensive policy framework for refugee reception and support. So how can Malaysia move forward? The humanitarian sector has been roiled by funding reductions from major donors, led by the US under President Donald Trump, and other Western countries as they prioritise defence spending prompted by growing fears of Russia and China. — Reuters pic In this piece, we will suggest three steps that Malaysia can implement within existing laws and policies. We want to emphasise that the discussion on whether or not to ratify international conventions should not stand in the way of practically providing a dignified life for those under our care. Based on extensive research among refugee communities in Malaysia, we suggest the following three steps to improve the quality of life for the refugees who are already here and have nowhere else to go: First, increase the inclusion of refugees and other undocumented populations in lawful employment. Legislation is already available in the IMM13 Visit Pass and work permit system and the National Security Council (NSC) Directive No. 23 – all that is needed is coherent implementation. This will increase living standards for a significant part of the Malaysian population, reduce exploitation, and broaden the state's tax base. In 2019, an IDEAS study estimated that, if granted the right to work, refugees could contribute around RM3 billion to Malaysia's annual GDP by 2024. Additionally, including refugees in the formal workforce will help reduce labour shortages in sectors like agriculture, construction, and caregiving. Second, invest in access to education and healthcare for refugees and their children. This is an important step for Malaysia to take to ensure adherence to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), both signed by Malaysia in 1995. Additionally, it will ensure that the next generation of refugees will grow up able and willing to contribute to Malaysian society. Programmes already exist in Malaysia for the most underprivileged children to go to school; these can be extended to include refugee children. Third, expand partnerships with community-based organisations (CBOs), NGOs, and international organisations to meet refugees' needs for support. This includes efforts to secure increased international funding for CBOs and NGOs that work with refugee support and rights in Malaysia. As American funding for UNHCR and other international bodies is reduced, the gaps in provision of support will have to be filled. Recent research shows that refugee and host CBOs are already carrying significant responsibilities for registration and support, and that this type of support will likely be the most sustainable and effective way to move forward. CBOs already have the know-how and the connections to make this happen – they just need the right political and financial support to continue their important work. Finally, the government must be ready to take up a more important role in refugee status determination and management. In the absence or reduced capacity of a coordinating international body such as the UN Refugee Agency, we need to step up to do more. This is not a problem that will fix itself, and these individuals are not only numbers – they are real people whose lives are in our care. Furthermore, it is in the Malaysian ethos to care; and we have done exactly that recently with our magnificent national societal response to the ongoing slaughter of the Palestinian people and how every part of the nation – from individuals to NGOs to government officials at the highest level – have condemned the genocide and have worked hard to funnel aid and help to Gaza. We have it in us to do more, to extend the same solidarity and compassion to those seeking asylum here. The reality is that global resettlement and funding systems are clearly broken, and in the current world order, no one is going to step in and fix them. This means that refugees and host communities in Malaysia all need to adjust to the fact that refugees are no longer a temporary presence. Lofty ideas of a full policy framework or ratification of international conventions should not hold Malaysia back from taking the reins on refugee protection. Small, pragmatic steps can be taken to promote longer-term protection and integration opportunities. This will improve lives and provide hope for the future – for refugees and host communities alike. Everyone stands to benefit: both refugees and Malaysian society at large. * Prof Melati Nungsari, Dr Kirstine Rahma Varming, and Shre Maha Manohar are researchers based in Kuala Lumpur who work on topics related to refugee studies and forced displacement. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
Gulf Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Marco Rubio's student visa pause makes no sense at all
Patricia Lopez, Tribune News Service This is a season of anxiety for international students in the US, who find themselves demonised by the Trump administration as it devises new ways to limit their numbers. The latest tactic came in a diplomatic cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to US embassies and consulates abroad, ordering a halt to the student visa interviews necessary to enter the country. The reason? An as-yet-undevised policy to further scrutinise the social media histories of students in a search for ... what exactly? No one seems quite sure. It was President Donald Trump who, in his first term, initiated screenings of student visa applicants' social media histories, looking primarily for terrorists or terrorist sympathiders. The policy became one of the few that was maintained by President Joe Biden when he succeeded Trump. In April of this year, Homeland Security said it also would begin monitoring international students' social media for evidence of antisemitism. That raised alarms among free-speech advocates because of the administration's tendency to conflate opposition to the Israeli government's policies or the war in Gaza with antisemitism. At the time, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that the administration was 'pursuing witch hunts into American colleges.' Now comes another amorphous, arbitrary standard that, even before implementation, is sending shock waves through an already traumatised international student community. Rubio's 'pause' on new student visa interviews will last until his department issues 'guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants,' according to the cable. It does not specify what might disqualify an applicant or what the State Department will be looking for. It does not even say when the guidelines will be available nor when new interviews will resume, although on Thursday the department announced a pilot program to vet Harvard University's visa applicants for antisemitism. That cable advised those doing the vetting to consider 'whether the lack of any online presence, or having social media accounts restricted to 'private' or with limited visibility, may be reflective of evasiveness.' That is an unconscionable level of opacity for students whose biggest sin is wanting to come to the U.S. to further their education and who have a limited window in which to pursue such opportunities. Recall that the last administration-announced 'pause' was to the US Refugee Admissions Program back in January. That was four months ago. It's still in effect. Bizarrely, Rubio's decision even includes J-1 visa applicants for the State Department's own Exchange Visitor Program. Often those relate to cultural visits, summer work or other education-related travel. But that program also includes physicians and International Medical Graduates, who often serve in teaching hospitals and medically underserved rural areas or other hard-to-staff roles. These J-1 applicants already run a substantial gauntlet of vetting just to reach the interview stage. Finally, there is the conundrum of how the State Department will implement this enhanced vetting even as it plans huge cuts to its footprint and workforce. Trump earlier this year signed an executive order axing budgets at embassies and consulates. In April, CNN reported that according to internal State Department documents, up to 30 embassies and consulates overseas could be closed and others could see reductions. Those kinds of cuts are at odds with the plan to increase the vetting of international students, who already go through exhaustive checks in their attempts to enter the US. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is right when he says that 'all this is just going to scare people away from the United States, people that might come here, get an education, stay here, make some really important progress in some area ... It's just all wrong-headed.' Wisconsin alone had more than 15,000 international students in the 2023-24 school year, according to a study by NAFSA, the National Association of International Educators. That stimulated the state economy by an estimated $541 million. Multiply that by every state and it's easy to see the damage from restricting foreign students won't only be felt by colleges and universities. Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA, said in a statement that international students 'already represent the most tracked and vetted category of nonimmigrants in the United States,' calling the pause unnecessary and the additional scrutiny 'a poor use of taxpayer dollars.' And the State Department is unlikely to draw the line at students. Rubio could also easily crack down on business visas, tourist visas, H-1B work visas and others. Despite the fear fostered by the Trump administration's policies, the intellectual richness of an American education remains a potent draw. And while Trump may be happy to set the bar close to zero for foreign students, few outside his MAGA base would agree. The benefits the students bring are indisputable, both in talent and economic impact. The swelling numbers of international students over the last few decades affirm this nation's primacy, spreading American values through 'soft' diplomatic power. America First cannot become America Alone, isolated and parochial. Whether they remain here or return to their native countries, we should hope these international students remember their time here fondly — not with fear.
Euronews
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Afrikaners' arrival in US as refugees sparks international debate
A charter plane carrying 59 white South Africans made international headlines when it landed near Washington on Monday. The new arrivals at Dulles International Airport weren't holidaymakers. Instead, they were the first Afrikaners, a minority descended from European colonists, to be admitted to the US as refugees. Greeted by senior officials from the Trump administration, the South African adults and children were promptly handed small US flags as a welcome to their adoptive country. Their entry is particularly contentious because it comes at a time when all other refugee resettlement through the US Refugee Admissions Program is indefinitely suspended. On his first day back in office on 20 January, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that paused the programme. Just weeks later, an exception was made for Afrikaners, who the White House said were suffering racial discrimination at home. The move followed the claim by Trump adviser Elon Musk — who was born and raised in South Africa — that white farmers face genocide and land expropriation in South Africa. The South African government has strongly denied the Trump administration's accusations, as have some prominent Afrikaners themselves. Euronews reached out to several major Afrikaner groups in South Africa, but did not receive a response. Loren Landau, professor of migration and development at the University of Oxford, said the optics of the Afrikaners' resettlement were plain to see. 'It sends a very clear message to the world and to American citizens that, even as the US attempts to deport millions of (people of colour), the Trump administration will welcome a group of people from elsewhere who have historically been associated with white supremacy and elitism,' he said, with reference to South Africa's Afrikaner-led apartheid regime, which lasted from 1948 until the early 1990s. Landau said vulnerable people, such as those fleeing Sudan's brutal civil war, are in much greater need of resettlement. 'All of these people qualify more as refugees — or should — than Afrikaners, who may face some level of anti-white discrimination on the streets, maybe even in politics, but by no means need to fear for their lives or livelihoods because of who they are,' Landau said. The Oxford professor added that the knock-on effects of US refugee policy, which he described as 'a huge slap in the face for humanitarians and humanitarianism', could be significant. 'It opens space for every country in the world to say, 'If the US, the world's richest country, won't take genuine refugees, why should we?'' Until Trump's executive order in January, the US was the leading resettlement country in the world, typically granting asylum to tens of thousands of refugees each year. In total, there are around 38 million refugees in the world, who have fled their countries and have a well-founded fear of persecution if they return, according to Bill Frelick, the director of Human Rights Watch's (HRW) Refugee and Migrant Rights Division. Only a small number of this vulnerable group used to receive third-country resettlement, Frelick said. 'The numbers accepted are now even smaller because the US was the major resettlement country,' he added. 'And so what had maybe been maybe 1% of the world's refugees being resettled is now going to be a fraction of that 1%.' Like Landau, Frelick said the US president's acceptance of Afrikaners and rejection of other groups was driven by political factors. 'I think Trump's thinking is transactional and is driven by other foreign policy considerations. There are other criticisms he's made of South Africa,' Frelick noted. Trump's criticisms include attacking South Africa for bringing a case in the top UN court against Israel over its war on Hamas in Gaza. Regardless of Trump's motives, the Afrikaners' refugee applications were expedited. "I can't speak to the Afrikaners' individual cases, but the US refugees admissions programme, which is decades old, has specific requirements that individuals have to meet,' said Mevlüde Akay Alp, a senior litigation attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). 'Historically, the process involves significant vetting and screening. It typically takes years for refugees to be admitted to the United States. What stands in stark contrast about the admission of dozens of Afrikaners this week is that they were fast-tracked in a matter of months.' Meanwhile, the thousands of refugees who were approved and had travel booked to the US as of 20 January remain unsure about their futures. Even though a court order is in place requiring the Trump administration to grant them entry. "Those people are now stranded in limbo in third countries. They, by definition, have faced extreme violence and persecution,' Akay Alp said. 'They had taken significant steps and relied on the fact that they would be travelling very soon to the United States. Many of them sold their belongings, ended the leases on their homes, left their jobs in anticipation that they would be travelling ... And they now have no idea whether they will ever be able to come to the US." Akay Alp mentioned that this group included those who had risked their lives helping the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq. The litigation attorney also spoke of one of IRAP's plaintiffs in a case challenging the Trump administration's suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Program. After fleeing war in the Congo at the age of 13, Pacito was scheduled to fly to the US two days after the refugee ban was declared. But despite multiple court orders in recent months, he is still waiting in Kenya. "We're dealing with real people's lives here,' said Akay Alp.
Business Insider
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Trump welcomes 59 white South African refugees, critics call hypocrisy
The United States expedited refugee processes for 59 white South African refugees, despite Donald Trump having suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program in January.
