January 17, 2025. Melanie Nathan, Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition: African Human Rights Coalition decries the xenophobia helming the Senate confirmation hearings for the Trump appointment of Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security: Scapegoating is no way to win an appointment.
Since its inception African Human Rights Coalition has promoted awareness and understanding of the issues that drive the forced displacement of LGBTQI+ people, who as life saving measures go to enormous lengths to reach our shores as refugees or asylum seekers.
In some instances, refugees endure years and years, of extreme vetting in harsh unsafe “protection” environments awaiting resettlement, which is not guaranteed to all. In other instances, asylum seekers traverse continents and endure impossible dangerous journeys seeking safety.
All the refugee and asylum seeker wants is a chance to live a safe productive life and in the case of LGBTQI+ people, authentically according to their sexuality and gender identity. Most are unable to do so in the countries of origin. They are fleeing the criminalizing laws in their countries which impose imprisonment, such as life, and in some death penalties. The societal and religious taboos, often promoted by US Evangelicals and Islamic extremism, also license horrific persecution and violence, that often leads to killings. To watch Kristi Noem, who is a governor of a state, the Republican Senators, the hearing chair, denigrate and demonize refugees and asylum seekers, painting all with the broad stroke of criminal, is without merit, untruthful, hateful, sickening and un-American. We also watched as the Senator Chair inferred that the New Orleans attack involved an immigrant, when in fact it was a radicalized Islamist, an American citizen, born in America. This is clearly designed to whip up hate against all immigrants. None of this hate serves the qualification of the appointment. All this serves to do is divide our nation, encourage hate and normalize xenophobia. Noem, if appointed, which is highly likely, is poised to preside over the mass deportation of millions of immigrants, the large majority of whom are not criminals and legitimately of right to pursue claims, receive due process or for other reasons should not be deported.
African Human Rights Coalition decries the lies, the rhetoric, and the grave injustice unfolding before us. We are committed to continue our work despite the anticipated added hardship of what the Trump administration is clearly about to deliver in general, and in the form of a Secretary of Homeland Security whose entrance to this appointment is underpinned by contempt for immigrants.
Melanie Nathan, Executive Director, African Human Rights Coalition commisisonermnathan@gmail.com
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