ICE IN HIS VEINS - Gayton McKenzie staan sterk in his support of US immigration policies

ICE IN HIS VEINS - Gayton McKenzie staan sterk in his support of US immigration policies

MINISTER of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie has doubled down on his support for US President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policies. 

Last week, McKenzie caused an uproar when he called on South Africa to adopt the same approach as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). 

ICE was created in 2003 in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001, with its mission being to: “Protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.” 

But ICE agents have been making headlines for the murder of two American citizens in the past month and has also arrested a South African man who was found to be in the country illegally. 

McKenzie, speaking on safety concerns ahead of the Fifa World Cup in the US later this year, told Sportsboom: “I totally agree with ICE. We must do the same here with what they’re doing there. I cannot criticise something that I want in my own country.” 

He added: “If you want to go to the World Cup and you have a visa, what problems do you have? If you go through the proper processes of attaining a visa, you will be fine. I won’t be politically correct - viva ICE! I agree with Donald Trump.”

Despite matters of immigration, border control, Home Affairs, and foreign not falling within his ministerial portfolio, hou McKenzie by sy storie. 

He said: “I have respected Cabinet discipline, and I do not speak on behalf of government on these issues.

“Since joining the Government of National Unity (GNU) as Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, my focus remains firmly on delivering on my portfolio and contributing constructively to the work of the GNU.

“As leader of the Patriotic Alliance, I support strong and decisive enforcement-led approaches to illegal immigration, including those pursued under President Trump and through ICE, because I believe that sovereign nations have both the right and the responsibility to control their borders, to enforce their laws, and to protect their citizens.”

In a response to IOL, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya explained that McKenzie’s comments should be viewed in the context of his position as a political party leader, not his official capacity as a government minister.

Magwenya said: “Minister McKenzie leads his own political party. Not everything he says is in his official capacity as a government minister.”