More white South African arrives in America under a new refugee program

Johannesburg: A second group of white South African people in the United States has arrived in the United States as part of a refugee program declared by the Trump administration, officials and advocacy groups said on Monday. Nine people, including families and children at the end of last week, said Jaco Kleenhans, the head of international contact in the solidarity movement, a group representing members of the White African minority of South Africa. The group traveled on a commercial flight, he said. A spokesman for the US embassy said in an email to the Associated Press that “refugees come as part of the ongoing operation of the African rehabilitation program on commercial flights from South Africa in the United States.” As part of the new program announced by US President Donald Trump in February, an early group of 59 White South Africans in a chartered flight last month reached the Dalece International Airport in Virginia. The Trump administration rapidly tracked other US refugee programs on the rehabilitation of white South African people indefinitely. The Trump administration said that it is giving refugee status to the white South African people, alleging that their black -led government is persecuted by the government -led government and is a victim of racially motivated violence. The South African government has denied the allegations and said that they are wrong in the country. Trump incorrectly claimed that white South African farmers are targeted in extensive attacks that are the amount for the massacre and taking their land away. Trump faced South African President Cyril Ramposa with those baseless claims during a meeting at the White House last month. Ramposa has said that relatively small number of attacks on white farmers are part of major problems with violent crime of South Africa, which affects all the races. The Trump administration initially stated that the refugee program was aimed at members of the South African African minority, mainly descendants of Dutch and French colonial settlers. Under the new guidance published by the US Embassy last month, applicants should be “a member of a racial minority” in South Africa and “be able to clarify the previous experience of harassment or fear of future harassment.” South Africa’s 62 million population is about 2.7 million Africans, which are more than 80 percent black. They are not only white minorities. There are about 4.5 million white in total, including British or other heritage people. The US embassy spokesman said the US “continues to review the interrogation of those who have expressed interest in the Embassy in rehabilitation in the United States and are reaching eligible persons for interviews and processing.” While US officials have not stated how many South African people have applied to move, Kleenhans said that about 8,000 applications have been made. Another group, who helped white South African people apply for refugee status, has said that tens of thousands have applied.