WASHINGTON: The first group of White South Africans to be granted refugee status by the United States is scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C., early Monday, marking a highly controversial milestone in U.S. immigration policy under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
The group of 49 Afrikaners — predominantly families, along with young couples and elderly individuals — departed Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday aboard a U.S. charter flight. The flight is expected to stop in Dakar for refueling before arriving at Washington’s Dulles International Airport around 6 a.m. ET Monday, ahead of a final transfer to Texas.
According to South African Transport Ministry spokesperson Collen Msibi, the permit application for the flight specifically stated the group consisted of Afrikaners “relocating to the USA as refugees.”
The resettlement effort follows a February executive order by President Trump directing the U.S. State Department to expedite refugee processing for Afrikaners, a White ethnic group descended from Dutch and other European settlers. Trump cited what he called “government-sponsored race-based discrimination” in South Africa — an allegation strongly denied by the South African government.
“This move is politically motivated and challenges the legitimacy of South Africa’s constitutional democracy,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement Friday. Nonetheless, it acknowledged the right of citizens to emigrate.
U.S. officials have planned a welcome event at Dulles on Monday. Government documents obtained by CBS News reveal the event has been coordinated in anticipation of further resettlements, although no additional flights have yet been authorized.
The Trump administration’s initiative to fast-track Afrikaner refugees stands in sharp contrast to its broader refugee policy, which includes sweeping bans on most other refugee groups. Typically, the U.S. refugee process takes 18 to 24 months, but several Afrikaners on this flight completed their cases in a matter of weeks.
The decision has added fuel to worsening relations between Washington and Pretoria. In March, the U.S. expelled South Africa’s ambassador following a series of policy disagreements. President Trump also pledged a “rapid pathway to citizenship” for South African farmers seeking to flee the country.
White South Africans, who comprise just over 7% of the population, still enjoy disproportionate wealth in a country where the Black majority, historically disenfranchised under apartheid, continues to face economic challenges. Land reform laws, which Trump and others claim are discriminatory, were introduced to address these inequalities but have yet to result in any confirmed land seizures.
While the State Department has emphasized it is prioritizing applicants “facing unjust racial discrimination,” immigration experts and human rights observers have questioned the basis and precedent of the decision.
As this group of Afrikaners prepares to start a new life in America, the political, racial, and diplomatic ripples of their departure continue to stir controversy on both sides of the Atlantic.
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