MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
For nearly 40 years, the Episcopal Migration Ministries has helped resettle refugees and migrants in the United States. But the Episcopal Church says it will not help resettle the Afrikaners, and that it will end its decadeslong partnership with the U.S. government to support migrants. The church says the Trump administration's request to welcome these South Africans crossed a moral line. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Sean Rowe, is with us now to tell us more about the church's decision-making. Bishop Rowe, thank you so much for joining us. Good morning.
SEAN ROWE: Thank you for having me, Michel.
MARTIN: Tell us more about what went into the decision to end the Migration Ministry.
ROWE: Well, the reality is we don't feel like we can be ourselves in the Episcopal Church and take the step of resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa. Here's why, basically. Our church has a commitment to racial justice and reconciliation. We have historic ties with a church in South Africa, particularly the Anglican Church, our sister church there. So we're not able to take this step. And in addition to that, we're saddened, really, and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the U.S. are people who have worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home. We just can't see that having fast-tracked Afrikaners in this way is morally just.
MARTIN: I want to mention that Archbishop Desmond Tutu was part of the Anglican community. He was an Anglican cleric. He was, of course, awarded the Nobel Prize, in part for his leadership in opposing Apartheid. Was that heritage, I would call it, part of what motivated the decision of the Episcopal Church?
ROWE: Absolutely. Episcopalians have been partners in that work. We've opposed Apartheid from the beginning. Desmond Tutu was a teacher to us, and we were a partner to him. In fact, he's a young seminary and I remember driving him around Washington, D.C. during one of his visits, but we have strong ties to that country and to that fight against racism in the Apartheid regime. And the idea that we would be somehow resettling Afrikaners at this point over other refugees who have been vetted and waiting in camps for months or even years is unfathomable to us.
MARTIN: So the president claims that these folks, the Afrikaners, are being subjected to racist harassment. I think he even used the word genocide at one point. For the record, you just say that's just not true.
ROWE: Yeah, I don't think the data bears that out. And certainly genocide. That's really a bridge too far.
MARTIN: So shortly after taking office, President Trump halted, as we said, nearly all refugee entry into the United States. Why do you think he seems to have such deep sympathy for Afrikaners and so little for people from other parts of the world?
ROWE: That's a really good question. I really don't understand why this is the way it is, except that it seems to me that some people are more valuable than others. And in this case, it seems to be that people who are white seem to be more valuable than those who are people of color. And in any case, the way that this has happened, the decision-making, the criteria that has gone into this just doesn't fit with our morals and the values that we hold as a church.
MARTIN: So what impact has this refugee pause had on the work that you do - this pause on refugees from everywhere else than these white South Africans?
ROWE: Well, since 1980, we've settled more than 100,000 refugees, and so have our other partner agencies with the government. And what has happened since January is that this program has entirely been shut down. So now no refugees, almost no refugees are coming into the United States, and now all of a sudden, Afrikaners have been fast-tracked over people who have assisted the government, over people who are being persecuted for their religion and for their political stance all around the world. People waiting to be reunified with their families. And now we've got Afrikaners coming in. At this point, it just doesn't make any sense.
MARTIN: So we have 30 seconds left. After your partnership with the U.S. government officially ends in September, what will your work with migrants look like after that?
ROWE: We're going to pivot our work to work with immigration and migration on the ground. We can't be partners with the federal government at this point, and - but we will continue our work and our advocacy to the most vulnerable. That's what Jesus calls us to - to care for the poor and the most vulnerable, and we will continue that work.
MARTIN: That is Bishop Sean Rowe of the Episcopal Church. He's the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. Bishop Rowe, thank you so much for speaking with us.
ROWE: Thank you, Michel.
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