Trump administration redirects millions of dollars to fight immigration amid Democratic outrage

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The administration of US President Donald Trump has redirected millions of dollars from allocations that were directed to promoting human rights, towards supporting conservative issues that include protecting Western civilizational values, enhancing freedom of expression and national sovereignty, supporting the rights of Afrikaners in South Africa, in addition to documenting the repercussions of mass immigration in Europe, according to what the American network “CNN” reported from a source familiar with the file.

This step comes within a broader trend by the US administration to reformulate foreign policy priorities, in a way that enhances conservative values ​​and natural rights, and gives the issues of freedom of expression, national identity, and confronting mass immigration a greater presence in US funding programs.

The funds allocated from the Democracy Fund amount to about $177 million, while grants worth millions of dollars were approved despite objections from Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the most prominent member of the Democratic Party in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who imposed a freeze on 10 proposed grants with a total value of $22 million, before the end of the US fiscal year last Wednesday.

The proposed programs include initiatives in Brazil, South Africa, and Nigeria, countries whose political profiles have seen differences with the Trump administration, as well as programs targeting Europe and the United Kingdom, in a shift from the traditional use of the Democracy Fund, which usually focuses on supporting human rights in authoritarian countries or with limited democratic systems.

The US State Department confirmed that the requirements for notifying Congress regarding the funding had been met, while ministry spokesman Tommy Pigot stressed the administration’s commitment to Trump’s pledges to confront what he described as an agenda that has harmed the United States and the world.

Pigot said the administration will be unapologetic about defending Western civilization, opposing censorship, ending the era of mass immigration, and taking action against government-sponsored apartheid in South Africa.

According to the source, Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved a memorandum to allocate the funds despite continued objections, while the programs have the support of prominent officials in the White House, including Vice President J.D. Vance.

The proposed grants include a $5 million program to strengthen what the project described as a “civilizational alliance” in Europe, through research, public debate, and political reforms, with the aim of protecting freedom of expression, political competition, and national sovereignty.

The US administration also seeks to support initiatives in Brazil to confront what it describes as judicial abuses and restrictions on freedom of expression, in light of the political disputes with the government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Washington had imposed sanctions on Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who supervised the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, before the sanctions were lifted last December.

On the other hand, Shaheen criticized directing funds to these programs, considering that Congress allocated them to support human rights defenders, help victims of violations, and strengthen democracy abroad, and that overriding parliamentary objections raises questions about spending mechanisms and priorities.

Shaheen said that using funds to support organizations and programs in established democratic countries undermines, in her view, American values ​​and relations with European allies.