Trump letting in white South Africans into U.S. draws backlash
Trump prioritizes white South African refugees
President Donald Trump's decision to allow white South African migrants into the United States have drawn backlash from Angelenos.
At Spice Salon, a beauty shop in Mid-City Los Angeles, the chatter isn’t about haircuts — it’s about headlines.
"Every client that comes in, that’s all they talk about," said Kehinde Ololade, the owner of Spice Salon and a Nigerian immigrant.
The focus of the conversation: the Trump Administration’s move to grant refugee status to 59 white South Africans. The decision is drawing sharp criticism from immigrant communities and civil rights advocates alike.
"It’s hypocrisy mixed with a nice cup of racism," said a woman getting her hair styled at the salon.
Hair stylist Terry Holloway added, "I think it’s very unfair that he wants to deport other people, but wants to bring in others... that doesn’t make any sense to me."
When pressed by reporters about why this group is being welcomed while others fleeing war and famine from places like Sudan and the Congo are being turned away, President Trump defended the decision.
"It’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about," Trump said. "But it’s a terrible thing, farmers are being killed... they happen to be white."
But immigration advocates and fact-checkers say that claim doesn’t hold up. Nana Gyamfi, executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, pushed back strongly.
"There is no genocide going on against white people in South Africa — there never has been," she said. "Some white South Africans may be struggling to adjust to the changes since the end of apartheid, but that doesn’t mean they’re being persecuted. No, they can no longer enslave Africans and live the way they did during apartheid — that doesn’t qualify them for refugee status, which has very specific criteria. And they absolutely do not qualify."
Still, supporters of the president are defending his decision. Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, said: "There comes a time when you realize everything President Trump does is going to be roundly criticized by the usual suspects. Immigration is the purview of the federal government, and President Trump is doing what he believes is best for Americans."
Back at Spice Salon, owner Ololade has this message for the president: "I would tell him to be kind to everyone. Regardless of their skin color, whether they’re disabled, whether they have or they don’t — just be kind."