Readers Write: Afrikaner refugees, Inter Miami vs. Minnesota United, tariffs

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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The latest news is that white South Africans have been given refugee status and were fast-tracked to the U.S. in less than three months. Following this order, the Trump administration announced that temporary protected status had been canceled for Afghan refugees and they have been asked to leave the country. None of these Afrikaners were in refugee camps or transported to the U.S. by nonprofit organizations. No, the U.S. taxpayer paid for their flights. Their claim for coming to the U.S. is that they were being discriminated against and killed in their own country. Yet, a South African court has ruled there is no truth to those claims. It is not without notice that apartheid occurred in this country, with white citizens discriminating against Black citizens until the government changed the laws in the 1990s. That said, in many large cities in South Africa, segregation is still present.

President Joe Biden granted TPS to the Afghan refugees, many of whom served as our interpreters and fought alongside American troops during the two-decade conflict. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has stated that there is no need for TPS, as Afghanistan is now safe for them to return. But their country is still under the rule of the Taliban, who are exactly the same people these refugees fled. They will certainly face the possibility of being put to death for supporting our country, which now wants to expel them. Who is speaking out in support of these Afghan refugees?

Is the fact that Elon Musk is from South Africa just a coincidence? Maybe or maybe not! He publicly spoke about having white Afrikaners migrate to the United States. It seems that President Donald Trump continues to reward Musk for disassembling the federal government. I guess $38 billion in federal contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits was just not enough.

Jan McCarthy, Eden Prairie

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I do not know enough to comment on the merits of granting refugee status to the white South Africans brought to the United States. I certainly wish them well in their new home. But surely, their situation cannot compare to another place where over 52,000 people have been killed, 18,000 of them children, where recently 15 unarmed medics on an aid mission were gunned down in cold blood, and where now starvation from the cutoff of food supplies is threatening to kill far more. That place is Gaza, those people are Palestinians, and America’s ally, Israel, is doing the killing, with 70% of their bombs and bullets supplied by the United States. Certainly, America should prioritize humanitarian assistance based on need.

Stanley Woolner, St. Paul

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Someone should warn the newly arrived Afrikaners that they’d better not get a DWI or they might be deported. Oh wait — they’re white, so they have nothing to worry about!

Tom Treuenfels, New Brighton

I attended the May 10 Inter Miami vs. Minnesota United match and was deeply disappointed by the treatment of fans in the supporters section — particularly children — who were told to remove or cover up their Lionel Messi jerseys. According to ushers, only MNUFC gear was allowed in that section. This policy, if it exists, is not only misguided but was inconsistently and unfairly applied.

First, Messi is the greatest soccer player of all time — a global ambassador for the sport. For many fans, especially kids, watching him play is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Asking them to hide their admiration for him is not only petty, it‘s contrary to the spirit of the game.

Second, MNUFC is not a storied club with the legacy or stature to demand this kind of tribal loyalty from a quarter of its stadium. If the team wants a small contingent of hard-core supporters to follow certain rules, that‘s one thing. But enforcing it on casual fans — who were fortunate enough to get tickets — is something else entirely.

Third, Messi’s presence brought the club unprecedented attention and revenue. By my estimate, this match generated eight to 10 times the typical game-day revenue. Instead of embracing the moment, the team chose to alienate fans who helped make it special.

Finally, I’ve attended many MNUFC games, and I’ve never seen this policy enforced before. If the club truly believes in it, it should apply it consistently — not just when one of the greatest athletes of our time is in town.

This was a missed opportunity for the club to celebrate a unifying moment for soccer fans in Minnesota — not a time to police jerseys.

Joe Trenzeluk, Minnetonka

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I enjoyed the article about Messi in the sports section but was dismayed by the omission of the status of Pele as one of the best soccer players ever (“Loons rout Messi, Inter Miami,” May 12). One of the thrills I had as a sports spectator was watching Pele play with the New York Cosmos against the Minnesota Kicks at Metropolitan Stadium. Watching his footwork was delightful. He was truly the best!

Phyllis Porter, Eden Prairie

In the article “U.S., China announce truce on tariffs,” which appeared on the front page of the May 13 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the writers neglected to mention one important fact.

While tariffs were reduced from the ridiculous 145% down to 30%, a 30% tariff is still 10 percentage points higher than what Americans were paying before the imposition of the tariff increase!

The Republicans are touting this as a win, but contrary to what President Donald Trump has said, Americans pay the cost of the tariff.

So, to be clear, Americans are still going to pay more on goods imported from China.

Dan McKenzie, Plymouth

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So now the administration has negotiated a tariff deal with China. Great! But now we see warnings of rising freight rates and shipping delays because the supply chain “valley” of the past months is now going to become a supply chain peak. Does the administration not understand that efficient and effective operating supply chains do not coexist well with chaos ... especially the self-inflicted kind of chaos? (I thought we learned this with COVID-19.)

What exactly was accomplished? Where are the new jobs brought back to the United States? Is there new tax revenue flowing into the federal coffers? If yes, why is the administration trying to cut Medicaid and federal workers? Can someone please explain? Can someone tie this chaos into a coherent strategy?

Or ... is the tariff chaos designed to confuse and distract us average U.S. citizens from the real focus of the Trump administration: the social, cultural and organizational changes to our great society that are defined in Project 2025?

Tom McDonough, Eagan

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I wouldn’t get too excited about Trump‘s fabulous new trade deals. By now we have caught on to his act of promising great things but never delivering. We are still looking for the great health plan he developed to replace Obamacare. Nor have we seen an immediate end to the Russian invasion or, for that matter, an easing in the cost of goods. He has criticized the U.S.-Mexico- Canada trade deal, one of the few trade deals he negotiated, wondering aloud, “Who would sign a thing like this?” He also was quite excited about the beautiful trade deal with China he negotiated, leaving office with a large increase in the U.S. trade deficit. He did add 52 miles of primary border wall on the Mexican border — but, of course, Mexico did not pay for it. Fool me once, shame on me. Repeatedly fooling me — shame.

Peter Thompson, Hopkins