The Episcopal Church is walking away from $50 million in annual federal grants instead of agreeing to resettle dozens of white Afrikaners from South Africa who are being classified as refugees by the Trump administration.

President Trump claims whites are facing persecution from the country’s black-led government in South Africa. The first group of 49 white Afrikaners landed at Washington Dulles International Airport Monday on a charter flight paid for by the American taxpayers.

The president has suspended refugee programs from many other countries but announced the relocation program for the South Africans in February.

The Episcopal Church’s refugee resettlement ministry says it is ending its grant agreements with the federal government after the Trump administration said the church was expected to resettle the white Afrikaners under the terms of its grants.

The church said it could not participate in the resettlement due to its “steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.” The church cited the administration’s recent treatment of refugees from places such as Afghanistan and Iraq as another reason for its decision. 

“It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,” Bishop Sean Rowe stated in a letter to members of the church.

The same day the white refugees arrived at Washington, the Department of Homeland Security announced the termination of temporary protected status for refugees from Afghanistan.

The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said Afghanistan no longer meets the requirements for the designation. “Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country,” Ms. Noem stated in a news release.

Many of the Afghans covered by the protected status had worked with the American military as translators or assistants during its long-term occupation of the country.

“I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country,” Bishop Rowe stated in the letter.

Mr. Trump was asked at the White House on Monday about the reason for the expedited process for the white South African refugees while other resettlement programs are being halted. “Because they’re being killed,” Mr. Trump said. He also repeated claims that white farmers are being “brutally killed and their land confiscated.”

A South African-born Trump ally, Elon Musk, has also repeated claims of anti-white policies in the country. The South African government has called allegations of violence targeting the white minority Afrikaners “completely false.”

The government says there have been violent attacks on farm owners, a majority of whom are white, but those attacks account for a small percentage of the country’s very high violent crime rate. The country reports more than 20,000 homicides a year, and less than 50 occurred on farms, AFP reports.

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, signed a law this year that makes it easier for the government to take over private land but no property has been seized yet, Reuters reports. “We think that the American government has got the wrong end of the stick here, but we’ll continue talking to them,” Mr. Ramaphosa said of the violence claims.

Mr. Trump hinted a G20 meeting scheduled for South Africa could be in jeopardy because of the alleged violence. “I don’t know how we can go unless that situation’s taken care of,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s a genocide that’s taking place.”

The Episcopal Church said it has helped resettle nearly 110,000 refugees in the past four decades. It plans to continue to assist refugees to the extent possible, but it acknowledged that the federal funds will be difficult to replace.