New Refugee Program Welcomes More White South Africans to the U.S.

JOHANNESBURG – A second group of white South Africans recently arrived in the United States through a refugee program introduced by the Trump administration, as confirmed by officials and advocacy organizations on Monday.

The group, consisting of nine individuals, including families with children, reached their destination at the end of last week, according to Jaco Kleynhans, who is in charge of international coordination for the Solidarity Movement—a group that advocates for South Africa’s Afrikaner minority. He mentioned that the group flew in on a commercial airline.

An official from the U.S. Embassy conveyed in an email to The Associated Press that the arrival of refugees from South Africa via commercial flights continues as part of the Afrikaner resettlement program’s ongoing activities.

An initial group of 59 white South Africans arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on a chartered flight last month under the new program announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in February. The Trump administration fast-tracked the resettlement of white South Africans after indefinitely suspending other U.S. refugee programs.

The Trump administration said it is offering refugee status to white South Africans it alleges are being persecuted by their Black-led government and are victims of racially motivated violence. The South African government has denied the allegations and said they are a mischaracterization of the country.

Trump has falsely claimed that white South African farmers are targeted in widespread attacks that amount to genocide and are having their land taken away. Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with those baseless claims during a meeting at the White House last month.

Ramaphosa has said the relatively small number of attacks on white farmers are part of South Africa’s larger problems with violent crime, which affects all races.

The Trump administration initially said the refugee program was aimed at members of South Africa’s Afrikaner minority, who are descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers. In new guidance published by the U.S. Embassy last month, applicants must be “a member of a racial minority” in South Africa and “must be able to articulate a past experience of persecution or fear of future persecution.”

There are approximately 2.7 million Afrikaners among South Africa’s population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black. They are not the only white minority. There are around 4.5 million whites in total, including those with British or other heritage.

The U.S. Embassy spokesperson said the U.S. “continues to review inquiries from individuals who have expressed interest to the embassy in resettling to the United States and is reaching out to eligible individuals for refugee interviews and processing.”

While U.S. officials have not said how many South Africans have applied to be relocated, Kleynhans said there have been around 8,000 applications. Another group helping white South Africans apply for refugee status has said tens of thousands have applied.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa