Trump administration plans to receive the first group soon White South Africans Government documents obtained by the CBS press conference, it said it deserves a safe haven in the United States due to alleged racial discrimination in South Africa after apartheid.
The documents say the initial arrival of South African nationals who were granted refugee status may occur as early as next week, describing its efforts as a “priority” of the Trump administration. Officials plan a Monday news event at Dulles International Airport, Virginia, to welcome the organization, although sources familiar with the effort told CBS News that the timing of the plan could change, documents show.
In February, President Trump released Executive Order Officials were instructed to use the American refugee program to relocate South African ethnic groups, a South African ethnic group composed of descendants of European colonists, mainly from the Netherlands.
The president claims that Afrikaans face “government-sponsored racial discrimination”, citing laws on conservative Americans (such as South African-born) Elon Muskit has been said that racially motivated seizures are allowed on land owned by white South Africans. The South African government strongly denies land confiscation or racially motivated discrimination.
Hurry-arranged initiatives welcome South Africans in stark contrast to Trump administration's move to ban most other refugees from entering the United States
After returning to the White House, one of Mr. Trump's first actions was to suspend U.S. refugee enrollment programs, trapping thousands of recognized refugees identified as vulnerable individuals who flee violence and persecution in Africa, Asia, Asia and the rest of the world.
Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images
Federal court ruled against Mr. Trump's plan to close the refugee program, which Congress established in 1980 to shelter those who fled persecution due to racial, religious or political views. A federal judge recently ordered officials to relocate about 12,000 refugees ready to travel to the United States when the suspension was suspended in January.
The processing of refugee status by the Dutch in South Africa is also extremely rapid. The State Department said before Trump’s second term that the refugee process takes an average of 18 to 24 months to complete due to background checks, medical screening and other interviews. The Afrikaans preparing to travel to the United States have gone through this process for months or even weeks.
Although the State Department's long-term plan to assist refugees in the first few months of the U.S. has stopped due to Trump's actions, his administration has directed resettlement officials to use Department of Health and Human Services funds to help the South African Dutch.
Resettlement officials were told they could use funds managed by the HHS Refugee Replacement Office to help Afrikaans secure housing, household goods and basic necessities in the first 90 days in the U.S., government documents show.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed in a statement Friday that its Refugee Replacement Office is using “existing infrastructure and funds” to provide “immediate support” to Afrikaans.
“It is expected to arrive in the short term and more people are expected in the coming months,” the department said. “(The Office of Refugee Resettlement) is in close coordination with federal, state and local partners to ensure these refugees are safe and successfully integrate the services needed by our country.”
The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, has been interviewing those who applied for resettlement to the United States under Mr. Trump's directive to welcome the Afrikaans and continue to be questioned, the State Department said in a statement.
The department added: “While we cannot comment on individual cases, the State Department is prioritizing the resettlement of Afrikaans in South Africa by U.S. refugees.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez
