Trump embraces South Africans - the white ones

President Trump's refugee policy reminds me of what automaker Henry Ford supposedly said about his company's Model T: "A customer can have a car painted any color he wants as long as it's black.

- Clarence Page Tribune Content Agency

So it is with the Trump administration's policy toward refugees who are fleeing war or political persecution, albeit with a color preference somewhat at odds with Ford's.

The Trump administration is welcoming white Afrikaners, a centuries-old ethnic group descended mainly from Dutch colonists, after suspending the program for everyone else. The first group of almost 60 arrived from South Africa at Dulles International Airport last Monday night — on a charter flight paid for by the U.S. government.

That means all other Africans who have waited in refugee camps for years after being vetted and cleared must step back and wait even longer for their uncertain futures to play out as white South Africans get ushered through the express lane.

This also throws into limbo the Afghans who risked their lives to assist American combat troops who have been left ever since they were unable to leave the country after the Taliban took over. “Betrayal” is a tough word, but it taxes the mind to think of a more appropriate description.

Such was the outrage expressed by the Episcopal Church, which announced after the Afrikaners arrived that it was terminating its partnership with the federal government to resettle refugees.