THE NEW U.S REFUGEE POLICY FOR MINORITY SOUTH AFRICANS

The Trump administration has welcomed Afrikaner refugees under a reimagined refugee resettlement plan, even as the programme remains on pause for others.

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The story so far: The first contingent of 59 Afrikaner refugees arrived from in the United States on May 12, under a new policy that promotes the resettlement of Afrikaners, a white minority group in South Africa, who President Donald Trump has alleged are facing racial discrimination in their home country.

The refugees arrived via a private chartered plane, and landed at Dulles Airport near Washington D.C. They were received by a government delegation including Troy Edgar, deputy Homeland Security secretary, and Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state

"Welcome to America....I want you to know that you are really welcome here," NPR reported Mr. Landau as saying.

What is the policy?

Under the new policy, the U.S has introduced expedited processing of refugee applications from Afrikaners and other South African minorities. To be eligible to be considered for resettlement in the U.S, individuals must be a South African national, of Afrikaner ethnicity or a member of a racial minority, and must have experienced past persecution or fear future persecution.

On May 12, the US Embassy and Consulates in South Africa published a notice about the refugee admissions programme "for Afrikaners and disfavored minorities in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination," thus indicating that the programme will continue post this first batch of 59 Afrikaners.

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Reports say that processing for these refugees took no more than three months. Agencies, including the U.S Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, are helping refugees settle across States such as Minnesota, Idaho, Iowa, and North Carolina.