First White South Africans arrive in US as Trump claims they face ‘genocide’ | World News

The first group of White South Africans granted refugee status the Trump adminration arrived in the United States on Monday. The plane landed at Washington Dulles International Airport, carrying 49 Afrikaners, a white ethnic group from South Africa, that once held power during the Apartheid era.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
US President Donald Trump had suspended almost all refugee admissions on his first day in office. However, his adminration later created a special pathway for Afrikaners to apply for resettlement. According to the refugees, they left South Africa citing violence, loss of job opportunities, and what they described as racial discrimination.
Speaking to reporters, President Trump said, “Farmers are being killed. They happen to be White. Whether they are White or Black makes no difference to me. White farmers are being brutally killed and the land is being confiscated in South Africa.”
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He further stated that the United States would grant citizenship to the group, adding, “These are victims of a genocide.”
President Trump signed an executive order cutting foreign aid to South Africa and pledged to resettle Afrikaner refugees. (AP)
However, police figures reported The New York Times do not support claims of mass killings. Between April 2020 and March 2024, South African police recorded 225 murders on farms. Most of those killed  101 were Black workers living on farms. Fifty-three of the victims were farmers, who are usually white.
The group that arrived on Monday had been processed within three months under an expedited system. According to the American Immigration Council, the average waiting time for refugee resettlement before the Trump adminration was between 18 and 24 months.
The move has caused tensions between Washington and Pretoria. South Africa’s foreign minry criticised the programme, calling it “politically motivated.” In a statement quoted The New York Times, minry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said, “It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy.”Story continues below this ad

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff who oversees immigration policy, told The New York Times that the situation “fits the textbook definition of why the refugee programme was created.” He said, “This is persecution based on a protected characteric  in this case, race. This is race-based persecution.”
Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order cutting foreign aid to South Africa and pledged to resettle Afrikaner refugees. He linked the move to the South African government’s actions that he said “racially disfavoured landowners.”
His comments were aimed at South Africa’s Expropriation Act, which allows the government to acquire private land without compensation under certain conditions. The law is meant to address land inequality and requires court oversight. According to The New York Times, South Africa’s foreign miner Ronald Lamola said the law is similar to eminent domain in the United States and is not aimed at unfair seizure.
The Trump adminration has also criticised South Africa’s foreign policy. Pretoria has condemned Israel over the war in Gaza and maintains close ties with Iran. South Africa has filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
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