National Bar Association President Criticizes Trump Visa Policy - Cites Concerns Over Rule of Law

Wiley S. Adams Speaks from South Africa, Condemns Preferential Treatment for White South Africans and Executive Defiance of U.S. Courts

JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA, May 20, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- During his tour of South Africa, Wiley S. Adams, President of the National Bar Association, issued a forceful condemnation of the Trump Administration’s racially motivated immigration policy granting preferential refugee status to white South Africans, alongside what many have referenced as "ongoing defiance" of the U.S. judicial system and the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

“Today, as I stand here in South Africa with my National Bar Association colleagues and members of the Black Lawyers Association of South Africa, I am reminded of the global struggle for racial justice and the hard-won victories against apartheid, colonialism, and systemic exclusion. Against this backdrop, the Trump Administration’s decision to prioritize white South Africans for refugee status—while ignoring truly persecuted groups like Sudanese refugees—is both appalling and offensive."

Adams continued: “The National Bar Association unequivocally condemns this administration’s latest affront to the rule of law and its embrace of white nationalist immigration policy. The suggestion that white South Africans represent an ‘oppressed minority’ deserving of special U.S. protection is not only factually unfounded—it is a racist distortion of humanitarian principles and a betrayal of America’s commitment to justice for all."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also publicly rejected claims that Afrikaners are victims of persecution or genocide.

President Adams further criticized the Trump Administration’s repeated refusal to adhere to court rulings:
“When a president openly defies judicial orders, dismisses constitutional boundaries, and seeks to reshape immigration policy based on racial preference, he is not merely breaking with tradition—he is undermining the foundation of American democracy itself. The rule of law is not optional.”

The National Bar Association reaffirmed its commitment to defending judicial independence, equal justice under the law, and an immigration system grounded in fairness, not racial bias.

“From South Africa—a country that still bears the scars of legislated racism—I remind our leaders in Washington: history will not forget those who attempt to revive old injustices under new names,” Adams concluded. “We remain steadfast in our pursuit of a society where laws are applied equally to all, regardless of race or origin.”

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About the National Bar Association (NBA): Founded in 1925, the National Bar Association is the nation’s oldest and largest network of predominantly Black attorneys and judges. Representing over 67,000 lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students, the NBA is committed to advancing the science of jurisprudence, improving the administration of justice, protecting judicial independence, and safeguarding the civil and political rights of all citizens.

Tanya Wiley-Brown
National Bar Association
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