MAKE REFUGEE POLICY SAME FOR ALL

On 2025-05-15, Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20) delivered a floor speech titled "MAKE REFUGEE POLICY SAME FOR ALL" in the House.

MAKE REFUGEE POLICY SAME FOR ALL

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 82 (Thursday, May 15, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 82 (Thursday, May 15, 2025)] [House] [Pages H2063-H2064] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] {time} 1115 MAKE REFUGEE POLICY SAME FOR ALL Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, this week, a group of Afrikaners arrived in the United States. They were greeted with open arms and American flags. Every single one of them skipped to the front of the line thanks to the expedited pathway that the administration handed them. Although they are not facing any imminent threat, nor any persecution, according to this administration, these farmers were victims who were being brutally killed as a part of a genocide. These claims are absolutely false. [[Page H2064]] We must ask ourselves: Why wasn't any grace extended to those fleeing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to the deadliest conflict in the world? There is no temporary protected status for them. Why wasn't any grace extended to Afghans, who helped our soldiers at war and risked their lives for the American people? This administration ended their deportation protections on the same day they welcomed Afrikaners. For those Haitians who fled instability and gang violence, why were TPS and humanitarian parole ripped away from them? Around the world, we have victims of war, famine, and bloodshed, but they have been left out to dry, where these Afrikaners were welcomed with open arms and, once again, without any persecution or risk of harm. We can't simply open our doors to the vulnerable when they serve political purposes. Refugee policies should never align with an agenda. It should serve those who are in need, those families overseas who will be murdered if America abandons them, not to people who serve a political purpose and for political gain. They should be awarded the same pathway that Afrikaners were given. ____________________