A South African man was detained by U.S. immigration authorities after arriving to seek asylum, despite expecting refuge under President Donald Trump’s statements about welcoming white Afrikaners.
Benjamin Schoonwinkel, 59, flew from Johannesburg to Atlanta in September and informed border agents he was seeking asylum. He was taken into custody and transferred to a federal detention facility in rural Georgia.
“I never expected this to happen,” Schoonwinkel told The New York Times from the Stewart Detention Center. His friend Rick Taylor said he had hoped to welcome him to Arkansas, stating, “We thought he was doing it the right way.” Schoonwinkel believed applying at the border was similar to entering through the refugee program.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Schoonwinkel’s tourist-visa entry and asylum claim. “Anyone who claims asylum at a port of entry is subject to mandatory detention,” she said, adding that valid claims result in relief and invalid ones in removal.
Schoonwinkel is awaiting a hearing while his lawyer argues his rights were violated.