The Episcopal Church has ended a nearly 40-year relationship with the federal government, citing moral opposition in refusing to resettle white Africans from South Africa classified as refugees by the Trump administration, NPR reports.
Presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, revealed the church received a letter in early May 2025 that under the terms of a federal grant, Episcopal Migration Ministries was “expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees.”
Rowe said that crossed a line, highlighting its leaders, like the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as vocal opponents of apartheid in South Africa.
“In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,” Rowe wrote. “Accordingly, 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.”
The church has a long history of advocacy against South Africa, altering its financial holdings there in 1966 and in the 1980s. The group even voted to stop companies from doing business in South Africa.
While it will support immigrants and refugees in other ways, including offering aid to those who have already been resettled, Rowe said Episcopal Migration Ministries will “wind down all federally funded services by the end of the federal fiscal year in September.”
The announcement came after the first group of white South Africans landed in the U.S. on May 12, according to The Hill.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce claimed in a statement that the refugee group faced grave racial discrimination in South Africa, projecting that the move was needed to safeguard victims of racial discrimination.
“No one should have to fear having their property seized without compensation or becoming the victim of violent attacks because of their ethnicity,” Bruce said. “In the coming months, we will continue to welcome more Afrikaner refugees and help them rebuild their lives in our great country.”
However, the South African government—and white religious leaders—said otherwise and condemned the Trump administration’s discrimination claims.
“The stated reasons for [Trump’s actions] are claims of victimization, violence, and hateful rhetoric against white people in South Africa along with legislation providing for the expropriation of land without compensation,” a letter from religious leaders, including an Anglican priest. “As white South Africans in active leadership within the Christian community, representing diverse political and theological perspectives, we unanimously reject these claims.”
Rowe pointed out concerns about how fast President Donald Trump switched gears for a certain group of refugees.
In January 2025, he signed an executive order that paused the refugee program and stopped payments to organizations that assisted with resettlement processes.
“I want to be very clear about why we made this decision—and what we believe lies ahead for Episcopal Migration Ministries’ vital work,” Rowe said. “It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years.
“I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country.”
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