Afrikaners granted refugee status are on the way to the U.S

A press conference on the South African refugees in the U.S. Arrived in Johannesburg and is expected to remain there for the rest of their lives

The White South African refugees arrived in the U.S. on Monday under an executive order mandating they be prioritized for resettling in the United States.

The Afrikaners, descendants of mainly Dutch colonists, were seen at the airport in Johannesburg with trolleys full of suitcases, but declined to speak to the media. The press conference will be held when they arrive in the United States.

There would be food and items for the children upon arrival, according to a document seen by NPR. It said the refugee services office of the Catholic diocese of Virginia would be onsite to offer assistance. The families will leave for their final destinations after the press conference, including Minnesota, Nevada, and Idaho.

The case manager will pick you up from the airport and take you to the housing you have been arranged for. It said that this might be temporary and that the local organization may be able to find more long-term housing.

The U.S. Commission on Refugees and Immigrants (CRIH) explains that “you are expected to find work quickly” in South Africa

“You are expected to find work quickly,” is what the South Africans were told. Adults are expected to accept entry level employment in fields like warehousing, manufacturing, and customer service. It is possible to work toward higher level employment over time.

However, the document stated that “Any credentials from your home country may not automatically transfer to the United States.” That last point will be of interest to many Afrikaner applicants — some of whom are farmers and have previously told NPR they hope to continue farming in the U.S.

One of the agencies assisting with resettlement is the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Fourteen Afrikaners are receiving services from them in Idaho, Iowa and North Carolina.

There is no evidence that the South African government is taking land from Afrikaners. The South African government did pass a land reform law earlier this year, allowing in rare circumstances for expropriation without compensation, but zero land has been seized. Whites in South Africa control 70% of commercial farmland, even though they account for 7 percent of the population.

South Africans aren’t refugees, but they are still there: the U.S. refugee program for Afrikaners and disfavored minorities in South Africa

“These people won’t be stopped from going, albeit under a false narrative,” the spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, told NPR. There isn’t any factual or legal basis for the executive order sanctioning this action. The definition of refugees in international law is not applicable to this case.

And it’s not only the South African government that has expressed disagreement. Many South Africans are incredulous that there is only a small rightwing minority. NPR spoke to ordinary citizens who were concerned race relations were being set back, three decades after the end of the racist system of apartheid — an Afrikaner policy — when Nelson Mandela ushered in a multi-racial democracy.

Many South Africans have taken to social media to post memes and comedic videos, casting doubt on claims that whites who leave for the U.S. are persecuted, joking they will miss their “privileged lives, domestic workers, and beach holidays.”

Refugee agencies were thrown into turmoil by the pause, as they were notified their flights had been canceled.

“We’ll continue to do our part regardless of country of origin,” Eskinder Negash, USCRI President and CEO, said in a statement to NPR. “We are hopeful that the arrival of this group of refugees indicates the government’s intention to restart the U.S. refugee program and help other refugees in need of resettlement services.”

The people who are eligible for consideration need to be of South African citizenship, Afrikaner ethnicity or a member of a racial minority in the country, and must be able to articulate a past experience of persecution.

“Today, the United States sends a clear message, in alignment with the administration’s America First foreign policy agenda, that America will take action to protect victims of racial discrimination,” Landau said in a statement.

On Monday, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in South Africa published a notice about the refugee admissions program for “for Afrikaners and disfavored minorities in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” indicating this cohort is the first of more to come.

He claimed that the U.S. Refugee Program had been a failure. The president is returning the refugee program to what it was intended to do, by the way.

Stephen Miller said that the refugee program is created because of what’s happening in South Africa. “This is persecution based on a protected characteristic, in this case, race. This is based on the color of your skin.

Trump, Musk, and the Secretary of State have spoken out about what they say is persecution of Afrikaners in South Africa.

“It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,” wrote Most Rev. Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the church, adding that others including the Afghans and Christians fleeing persecution have been denied refuge.

The Episcopal Church decided to end its relationship with the government because of moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners.

The U.S. Refugee Program in War: Status, Challenges, and Prospects for Refugees in the Post-Trump Era

“Some of the criteria are making sure that refugees did not pose any challenge to our national security and that they could be assimilated easily into our country,” he said about the decision to let in Afrikaners.

When asked whether the administration would reopen the broader refugee resettlement program, Landau told reporters it was “still an ongoing consideration.”

Among those left in limbo were Afghans who worked with the U.S. military, a move that some Republicans have criticized. The administration is fighting the court order that it resume the refugee program for those who have already been approved to travel.

Families on Monday arrived at the airport with their luggage; children donned pajamas and carried small American flags and stuffed animals as their parents walked them through a private airplane hanger.

The families were greeted by the deputy secretaries of state and homeland security.

Agencies who deal with refugees in the US have faced budget, resource, and personnel cuts since Trump took office, and their admissions to the US have drawn scrutiny.