Instead of assisted relocation to the United States, Benjamin Schoonwinkel is currently being held with 2000 other immigrants deemed to be in the country illegally
When US President Donald Trump announced he was ready to welcome white Afrikaners who feared persecution in their home countries to the US, Benjamin Schoonwinkel wasted no time packing up his life in South Africa and heading to the United States.
However, instead of applying for the refugee programme, he entered the US via a tourist visa and landed in Atlanta in September.
He told customs officials he was seeking asylum in the United States in terms of Trump’s policy statement opening the doors of relocation for White Afrikaners. However, instead of receiving asylum or a refugee status, he was immediately detained and sent to an ICE detention centre in Georgia.
Ever since, he has been living in the facility with other immigrants who are facing deportation. But even his fellow inmates were surprised by his arrival, as he is a white man, while most of the people at his detention centre are either Latino or Black.
Had Schoonwinkel entered the US with an asylum request before Trump came into power, he would have been allowed to live freely in the country while his case was processed.
However, the Trump administration has enacted a new rule that places asylum seekers in detention centers until their claims are verified.
Thus, while the man thought Trump’s policies would help him build a life in the US, they ended up ruining his life. He has spent the last 100 days in a dormitory in the detention centre with 2000 other immigrants.
According to reports, Schoonwinkel has a 63-year-old US-based friend, Rick Taylor, who resides in Arkansas. He was the one who had suggested that Schoonwinkel move to the US.
Talking about his suggestion and the fiasco that followed, Taylor told The New York Times: “When I saw President Trump brought some Afrikaners to the US, I contacted Ben. I said, ‘I think this is a good time for you to come here. Ben had the money and means to get a good start and make it here.”
Now that the plan has backfired, Taylor is doing everything he can for the release of his friend. He has hired immigration lawyer Marty Rosenbluth to handle the case. The attorney revealed that even he was surprised to see a white man under ICE detention when he learnt about Schoonwinkel, The New York Times reported.
Rosenbluth said, “I assumed he was Black. Why else would he be in ICE custody? It never crossed my mind he could be Afrikaner. I thought, how could this be happening? He had the right to make his case without being thrown into a hellhole.”
Schoonwinkel will have a hearing next month that might decide his fate in the country. On the other hand, the Homeland Security Department has reiterated that anyone seeking asylum in the US has to be detained while the officials investigate their case.