US grants asylum to 54 Afrikaner South Africans

The United States, on Friday, May 9, 2025, granted refugee status to 54 white Afrikaner South Africans, with their arrival in Washington, D.C. expected as early as Monday, according to various media reports.

Upon landing, the group will reportedly be received by U.S. government officials.

These will supposedly include high-level representatives from the Departments of State and Homeland Security.

A press conference is being planned to mark the event, which NPR noted is an unusually high-profile welcome for refugees.

This development follows President Donald Trump’s earlier suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program on his first day in office.

This directive left over 100,000 approved refugees from conflict zones such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan in limbo.

In February, Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. government to prioritize refugee status for Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch and French colonizers.

He had claimed face racial discrimination in South Africa.

As of Thursday, U.S. officials were working to finalize travel arrangements for the Afrikaner group, with a charter flight to Dulles International Airport being organized.

If that plan fails, commercial flights are being considered as an alternative, according to NPR, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the process.

While some U.S. officials told The New York Times that the specific arrival date remains unconfirmed and plans are still evolving, preparations are clearly underway.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department declined to confirm flight details.

However, he did acknowledge that the U.S. embassy in Pretoria has been conducting interviews and processing refugee claims.

Although individual cases cannot be publicly discussed, the spokesperson emphasized that the department is prioritizing refugee resettlement.

This, he said, would be for Afrikaners in South Africa who have been victims of what it terms “unjust racial discrimination.”

The processing and approval of refugee status for this group has moved notably faster than usual.

According to a source quoted by NPR, the timeframe was significantly accelerated compared to pre-Trump-era standards.

At the time, resettlement could typically take between 18 to 24 months, as per the American Immigration Council.

The National Public Radio (NPR) also listed 12 states that have agreed to host the incoming refugees, including California, West Virginia, and New York.

Some members of the group reportedly already have family in the United States, which may ease their transition.

The Department of Health and Human Services is set to assist the new arrivals with a wide range of basic needs.

A memo obtained by The New York Times indicated that support will include housing, essential furnishings, groceries.

It will also include weather-appropriate clothing, baby supplies, hygiene products, and prepaid mobile phones.

The context of this policy move is South Africa’s complex racial and economic history.

Under apartheid, the country was governed by white Afrikaner leaders who institutionalized racial segregation and violently suppressed the black majority.

Although apartheid officially ended more than 30 years ago, South Africa remains deeply unequal.

According to the Review of Political Economy, white South Africans still hold, on average, 20 times more wealth than black citizens.

Unemployment figures reflect this disparity too, with 46.1% of black South Africans unemployed compared to just 9.2% of whites.

The country’s 2022 census reported that whites account for 7% of the population of 63 million, with about half being Afrikaners.

Meanwhile, black South Africans make up 81% of the population.

Post-apartheid affirmative action policies have helped elevate a segment of the black population into the middle and upper classes.

However, widespread poverty persists among the majority.

These policies, coupled with ongoing crime issues that affect all citizens, have fueled perceptions among some white South Africans that they are now victims of systemic racism.

A joint Ipsos and News24 survey found that more than half of white South Africans believe black economic empowerment programs should end, compared to only a third of black South Africans who share that view.

Trump’s stance aligns with these concerns.

In his February executive order, he cited “hateful rhetoric and government actions fuelling disproportionate violence against racially disfavoured landowners.”

Trump, along with his South African-born adviser Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has repeatedly amplified a controversial narrative.

It is reportedly the narrative that white South Africans—especially farmers—are facing racial persecution and violence.

This echoes a claim that gained popularity among global far-right groups during Trump’s first term, despite a lack of supporting evidence.

According to The New York Times, U.S. refugee authorities were specifically instructed to prioritize white Afrikaner farmers among over 8,000 pending asylum claims.

In response, the South African government criticized the move, calling it ironic and unjust.

“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship,” it said in a February statement.

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