Newly arrived South Africans hearken to representatives from Homeland Safety and the State Division ship welcome statements in a hangar at Atlantic Aviation Dulles close to Washington Dulles Worldwide Airport on Might 12, 2025 in Dulles, Va.
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The primary group of White South African refugees arrived within the U.S. on Monday below President Trump’s govt order mandating they be prioritized for resettlement — even because the broader refugee program stays largely on maintain.
The 59 Afrikaners, descendants of primarily Dutch colonists, underwent expedited critiques that took months, had been dropped at the U.S. on a government-chartered flight, and had been greeted at Dulles Worldwide Airport by federal officers — all unconventional steps for the refugee resettlement program, which might take years to course of.
Households on Monday arrived on the airport with their baggage; kids donned pajamas and carried small American flags and stuffed animals as their mother and father walked them via a personal airplane hanger.
Troy Edgar, deputy Homeland Safety secretary, and Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, greeted the households, shaking fingers and posing for images.
“Welcome to America,” Landau instructed the households. “I would like you to know that you’re actually welcome right here.”
However their admission to the U.S. has drawn scrutiny from resettlement businesses within the U.S., who’ve have confronted sharp funds, useful resource, and personnel cuts since Trump took workplace.
Amongst his first govt actions, Trump quickly paused the refugee resettlement program. Numerous businesses together with the State Division have additionally paused disbursing funding for vital companies equivalent to the house, job and faculty help the Afrikaners are poised to obtain.
The pause despatched the refugee resettlement businesses into turmoil as refugees already cleared to reach within the U.S. obtained discover their flights had been cancelled.
Amongst these left in limbo had been Afghans who labored with the U.S. army, a transfer that some Republicans have criticized. Judges have ordered the federal government to a minimum of resume the refugee program for individuals who had already been accredited to journey, however the administration is preventing the courtroom order.
When requested whether or not the administration would reopen the broader refugee resettlement program, Landau instructed reporters it was “nonetheless an ongoing consideration.”
“A few of the standards are ensuring that refugees didn’t pose any problem to our nationwide safety and that they could possibly be assimilated simply into our nation,” he mentioned in regards to the resolution to let in Afrikaners.
Episcopal Church ends refugee partnership
The Episcopal Church on Monday introduced it could terminate its partnership with the federal government to resettle refugees, citing ethical opposition to resettling white Afrikaners.
Episcopal Migration Ministries mentioned it had been notified by the federal authorities that it was anticipated to resettle among the refugees.
“It has been painful to look at one group of refugees, chosen in a extremely uncommon method, obtain preferential remedy over many others who’ve been ready in refugee camps or harmful circumstances for years,” wrote Most Rev. Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the church, including that others together with the Afghans and Christians fleeing persecution have been denied refuge.
Trump, his South African-born adviser Elon Musk, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have all been vocal about what they are saying is persecution Afrikaners — lots of whom are farmers — face in South Africa.
“What’s taking place in South Africa matches the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created,” Deputy Chief of Workers Stephen Miller instructed reporters final week. “That is persecution primarily based on a protected attribute, on this case, race. That is race-based persecution.”
Miller doubled down on the administration’s efforts to restrict the broader refugee program.
“The U.S. Refugee Program has been a catastrophic failure,” he mentioned of previous administrations’ software of this system. Trump’s adjustments, he continued, are “an instance of the president returning the refugee program to what it was supposed to do.”
Extra Afrikaners eligible for resettlement
On Monday, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in South Africa printed a discover in regards to the refugee admissions program for “for Afrikaners and disfavored minorities in South Africa who’re victims of unjust racial discrimination,” indicating this cohort is the primary of extra to return.
“At the moment, america sends a transparent message, in alignment with the administration’s America First international coverage agenda, that America will take motion to guard victims of racial discrimination,” State Division spokesperson Tammy Bruce mentioned in a press release.
To be eligible for resettlement consideration people have to be of South African nationality, be of Afrikaner ethnicity or a member of a racial minority within the nation, and should have the ability to articulate a previous expertise of persecution or worry of future persecution.
One of many businesses aiding with resettlement is the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. They’re offering companies to 14 Afrikaners throughout Idaho, Iowa and North Carolina.
“We’ll proceed to do our half no matter nation of origin,” Eskinder Negash, USCRI President and CEO, mentioned in a press release to NPR. “We’re hopeful that the arrival of this group of refugees signifies the federal government’s intention to restart the U.S. refugee program and assist different refugees in want of resettlement companies.”
—With help from Jack Jenkins of Faith Information Service and NPR’s Michele Kelemen.
