Rubio says white South Africans 'assimilate' easier when questioned about program

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Rubio says white South Africans 'assimilate' easier when questioned about program The Trump Administration stopped admitting refugees and created a new program for white South Africans.

+ Politics Rubio says white South Africans 'assimilate' easier when questioned about program June 4, 20266:46 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Michele Kelemen Rubio says white South Africans 'assimilate' easier when questioned about program Listen &middot; 2:35 2:35 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5844925/nx-s1-9796831" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript The Trump Administration stopped admitting refugees and created a new program for white South Africans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers this week that they "assimilate" more easily. Sponsor Message LEILA FADEL, HOST: On Capitol Hill this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended cutbacks at the State Department, President Trump's sleeping habits and radical changes in the U.S. refugee program, which used to have bipartisan support. NPR's Michele Kelemen takes a closer look.

+ MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: For decades, the U.S. had a program to resettle the world's most vulnerable refugees, vetted and screened for months or years before they could arrive. But the Trump administration put a stop to that and created a new program just for Afrikaners - white South Africans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained it this way at a House hearing this week. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) MARCO RUBIO: We have gauged that there is real interest from a unique subset of people in South Africa who would be interested to coming in the United States and who we assess have a high likelihood of rapid assimilation and success in our society. And hence, this program was created. KELEMEN: The Trump administration says it will allow up to 17,000 white South Africans to come this year. Congresswoman Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York, compared that to the 1,000 Afghans who fled the Taliban but are now stuck in limbo in Qatar, since the Trump administration won't accept them. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) GRACE MENG: Why can't they assimilate into society? RUBIO: A background check is not the symbol of assimilation. MENG: I've been to their centers in my district in Queens. RUBIO: Well, I... MENG: They have assimilated and contribute and pay taxes. RUBIO: Yeah, but we've already assumed a lot of Afghan refugees. As you said, you have them in your district. KELEMEN: The State Department is trying to find countries willing to accept those Afghans and proposed the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where there's now an Ebola outbreak. Congresswoman Julie Johnson, a Democrat from Texas, accused Rubio of dishonoring Afghans who helped Americans during the war. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JULIE JOHNSON: Mr. Secretary, is it the policy of this government to send these Afghan folks to the Congo? RUBIO: That's just one country. The policy of the United States is to find multiple countries, and they will be able to choose which one they want to go to of the options that they're presented. KELEMEN: At that hearing, Rubio clashed with Democrats, who raised concerns about President Trump's stock trades and the business dealings of his top negotiators - son-in-law Jared Kushner and real estate developer Steve Witkoff. Rubio repeatedly said that he's never seen any of them take steps to promote their businesses. He also told lawmakers that he's never seen President Trump sleep, though California Democrat Ted Lieu showed videos of Trump closing his eyes at public Cabinet meetings. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department. (SOUNDBITE OF ROB FORD EXPLORER'S "PHOENICIA") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1169:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(491),c(240),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(239),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1169,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();