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State Department says South African arrivals met U.S. refugee statute as reporters press on 'genocide' claim
Summary
At a State Department press briefing, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pickett said South African arrivals met the statutory refugee standard while declining to provide new evidence for a presidential claim of 'genocide'; reporters pressed distinctions with other refugee groups and on which office makes a genocide determination.
Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pickett said at a U.S. Department of State press briefing that the South African nationals who recently arrived in the United States “met that standard in statute for refugees.”
Why it matters: reporters raised concerns about disparate speed of treatment compared with Afghan applicants and asked whether the president or the secretary of state is making a legal determination on whether violence in South Africa amounts to genocide. The exchange highlighted tensions…
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