The first group of white South Africans granted refugee status under US President Donald Trump has arrived in the United States.
A charter flight carrying 49 Afrikaners landed at Washington Dulles Airport from Johannesburg on Monday. The group was granted asylum on the grounds of alleged racial discrimination in South Africa.
Sources told Reuters the group would hold a press conference before dispersing to various destinations, including Minnesota, Idaho and Alabama. The US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed more arrivals are expected in coming months.
The decision to prioritise white South Africans, descendants of mainly Dutch settlers, has sparked criticism in South Africa, where officials say there is no evidence of racial persecution.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the group left due to opposition to post-apartheid policies aimed at addressing inequality.
“We think the American government has got the wrong end of the stick here, but we’ll continue talking to them,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
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Critics have accused the Trump administration of ignoring domestic context and politicising immigration. South African media has largely dismissed the group’s refugee claims, using quotation marks around the term “refugees” and offering limited coverage.
Under Mr Trump, the US has restricted refugee intake from several non-white majority countries while extending priority to white South Africans.
The move has found support in right-wing circles online and among figures like Elon Musk, a South African-born ally of Mr Trump.
Despite South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994, the country remains deeply unequal.
White South Africans, who make up less than 10 per cent of the population, own about 75 per cent of private land and are significantly wealthier than the Black majority.
This year, Mr Ramaphosa signed a law aimed at enabling land redistribution in the public interest. This move has prompted criticism from the US administration.
Since returning to office in January, Mr Trump has cut all US aid to South Africa, citing opposition to the land reform law and South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.