Double standards in the treatment of White Ukrainian refugees versus Africans abound

Ukrainian refugees Sasha Alexandra and Olena embrace shortly before being allowed to cross into the United States to seek asylum on March 21, 2022 in Tijuana, Mexico. (Credit: Mario Tama / Getty Images)

By Donna Abrams // Immigration // EEW Magazine Online

From day one of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports of discrimination at Ukraine's border began surfacing.

A student named Ethel Ansaeh Otto from Ghana told CBS, “They would consider White people first. White people first, Indian people, Arabic people before Black people.”

Another student from Morocco said: "We went to the train station and they will not let us in."

"And when they did let us in, they were like, 'You have to give us money because this is, this is not for free for you because you are foreign. This is not free for you,’" said Selma El Alaui.

Even for White Ukrainian refugees crossing the border into the United States, there seems to be a double standard, as they have received compassion and support and no shortage of sympathetic, feel-good media stories devoted to their cause.

On the other hand, a California-based minister is raising an interesting point: when it comes to Africans, the same courtesies and kindnesses are often not extended

Haitian migrants were chased by Border Patrol agents on horseback as they tried to cross the Rio Grande into Texas from Mexico. (Credit: Paul Ratje/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)

“In the political climate we live in, were the White Ukranians Black Africans, then would there be the same level of tolerance for what is known as illegal immigration?” Dan Jeffries, who is African American, said in an interview with EEW Magazine.

“We saw cowboys on horses wrangling Haitian migrants in September 2021, but White Ukrainians are viewed as sympathetic figures and are getting lots of support. There is a double standard,” he noted.

Last Fall, witnesses saw mounted officers wearing cowboy hats blocking the paths of Haitian migrants and one officer unfurling a cord resembling a lariat, which he swung near a migrant's face.

Credit: Paul Ratje

A video showing a border guard apparently threatening migrants with the cords was shared on social media.

Whatever was happening, no matter the context, "I don't think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at the time.

Now juxtapose that with CNN coverage of White Ukrainian refugees in an article titled, “100 people from one California church opened their homes to Ukrainians in need.”

A Ukrainian family arrives at a shelter at the church in Chula Vista, California, on April 1. (Credit: CNN)

In the story, we hear from Phil Metzger from Calvary San Diego in Chula Vista who returned home to California from Ukraine, where he had been helping deliver medicine and evacuate families, with a burden on his heart to do more.

"Who would ever imagine that a pipeline into America (for Ukrainians) would open through Mexico?" Metzger said to CNN. "That just caught us all completely off guard."

His ministry, which is 8 miles north of the US-Mexico border, has seen the unfortunate plight of a growing number of Ukrainians that are crossing the border from Tijuana to seek refuge in the United States—something the preacher saw as an opportunity to be Christ-like.

"Jesus said love your neighbor as yourself. Right now, these are our neighbors," Metzger says. "They're literally showing up in our backyard."

Over the past six weeks, Metzger says thousands of Ukrainians that have made it across the border have spent at least one night inside his church with hundreds more staying at the residences of church members.

About 100 people, both parishioners and their famiiy members, have allowed Ukrainians to stay for a night or two. They have also been volunteering to make airport runs to drop off families that were traveling to link up with relatives across the US.

Metzger, who was based in Budapest for 20 years and made lots of friends in Ukraine, calls the experience “life-changing”—not just for his church but also for the refugees.

More Ukrainians may soon be coming to other parts of the United States. NBC reports that the Biden administration will allow their entry through a range of pathways, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, non-immigrant and immigrant visas, and other means.

There will also be a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the U.S. Additional details are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks. For now, we know that Biden has committed himself to an initiative that will allow individuals and nonprofits to sponsor thousands more Ukrainians seeking refuge in the United States.

"Our church sees this as a great privilege," Metzger said. "We're benefiting from amazing human beings that are coming into our country that we get to connect to."

Now let’s rewind to the Haitian border crisis of 2021. Would-be refugees seeking asylum amid security concerns, social unrest, an increase in human rights abuses, crippling poverty, and lack of basic resources, did not receive the same level of support.

Despite the White House taking a pro-Haitian position in the press, behind the scenes, the support was not there as it should have been.

Patrice Lawrence who leads the group UndocuBlack, which advocates for undocumented Black people in the US writes for CNN , "The Biden administration could have made a strong statement in favor of due process and dignity by allowing for an orderly asylum process. Instead, it has opted for mass expulsions of vulnerable people."

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, however, did not share Lawrence’s compassionate viewpoint, opting instead for a wall of police cars.

"When you have an administration that is not enforcing the law in this country, when you have an administration that has abandoned any pretense of securing the border and securing our sovereignty, you see the onrush of people like what we saw walking across this dam that is right behind me," he said at a news conference.

Many immigration activists argue that racism is to blame for the unequal treatment of Black and Brown refugees. And although Jesus did not separate who was and was not deserving of unconditional love, acceptance, and support based on race, it seems that in America and other parts of the world, we do.

Thus, we all need to do better.