Rubio Says Dem Senator Only Opposes Afrikaner Refugees Because Of Their Race

Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Democrat Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) over his reaction to America’s acceptance of white South African refugees, with the Trump administration official charging that the Democrat doesn’t like the refugees because they’re white.

The heated exchange came during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting, which came just a week after less than 60 Afrikaner refugees arrived in Virginia, prompting outrage from many on the Left.

“Can you have a different standard based upon the color of somebody’s skin? Would that be acceptable?” Kaine asked Rubio during the committee meeting. “I’m not the one arguing that, apparently you are because you don’t like the fact that they’re white and that’s why they’re coming,” Rubio shot back in response.

“You just don’t like that they’re white”

Secretary Of State Rubio smokes Tim Kaine for melting down over the legal admittance for 59 White refugees

pic.twitter.com/8WMDoaBNY4

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 20, 2025

“You’re the one that’s talking about the color of their skin, not me. These are people whose farms were burned down and they were killed because of the color of their skin,” the Secretary of State went on to add.

He also explained during the hearing that the Afrikaners qualify for refugee status because they “live in a country where farms are taken and land is taken on a racial basis.”

Kaine claimed that the notion that Afrikaners are being persecuted because of their race is “completely specious,” but South African political leaders have openly called for the killing of white South Africans at large political rallies.

Julius Malema, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa, chanted “shoot to kill” and “kill the boer” at a political rally in reference to the white Afrikaner population. At another event, he said that his political movement is “cutting the throat of whiteness.”

South Africa’s Julius Malema, the party leader of the EFF calls for killing white people:

“Shoot to kiII. KiII the Boer, the farmer”pic.twitter.com/vFjqJ9l8GR https://t.co/sxzS0d0Dn4

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 22, 2025

The Episcopal Church’s refugee resettlement wing, which has resettled migrants in the United States for decades, announced that it would refuse to help settle the Afrikaners for explicitly racial reasons. Episcopal Migration Ministries cited its “steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation” as it announced its refusal of support for the Afrikaners.

The organization even said it would terminate its existing resettlement contract with the federal government over the controversy. “We have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said.