Rubio, Kaine Clash Over White South African Refugee Admission

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration's decision to grant refugee status to 59 white South African Afrikaners amid criticism from Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who questioned whether race influenced the prioritization of Afrikaner refugees over other persecuted groups. During a heated Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Kaine called the claims of persecution against Afrikaners "specious" and challenged Rubio on the racial implications of the refugee program, asking if different standards based on skin color were acceptable. Rubio countered by accusing Kaine of focusing on race and maintained that the admitted Afrikaners had met all criteria and faced persecution, including farm attacks and racial violence. The debate highlighted tensions over the suspension of broader refugee resettlement programs by the Trump administration and the perceived preferential treatment of white South African refugees. Despite Kaine's emphasis on other persecuted groups and the multi-racial nature of South Africa's current government, Rubio insisted on the US's sovereign right to select refugees and pointed to documented violence against Afrikaners. The controversy underscores broader political and racial divisions surrounding refugee policies in the US.