Spanish
Washington.- The United States Government welcomed the first group of 49 Afrikaners (white South Africans descended from Dutch settlers) who arrived in the country as refugees, fleeing what President Donald Trump calls "genocide".
The Under Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, received the South African citizens at Dulles International Airport, outside Washington.
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"When you have quality seeds, you can sow them in foreign soil and they will flourish. We are excited to welcome you to our country, where we believe you will flourish," Landau told the newcomers, who plan to move to other parts of the country.
In a statement, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce called the operation a "great achievement", in line with Trump's call to "prioritize the resettlement" of a "vulnerable group facing unfair racial discrimination in South Africa".
This was the first group to arrive in the U.S. from the African nation after Trump opened the door in February to the resettlement of "Afrikaner refugees", with an executive order that blocked aid to South Africa under accusations of "confiscating" land from the white minority, something that the South African government denies.
Hours before the arrival of the asylum seekers, the American president justified the refuge for that group of people because, he assured, they are suffering a "genocide" in South Africa.
"Whether they are white or black is not important to me, but they are white farmers who are being brutally murdered and their land is being confiscated in South Africa," he stated at a press conference at the White House.
Trump said he might meet with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa next week at the White House, and insisted that the United States will not participate in South Africa's G20 while the alleged discrimination against Afrikaners continues.
Ramaphosa stated this Monday that the Afrikaners who left for the United States do not meet the characteristics of refugees because they are not suffering any kind of persecution.
South Africans arrived in the U.S. thanks to a program that provides asylum to people fleeing conflicts, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises, which has been suspended since Trump came to power in January, who has promoted a harsh immigration policy and "closed borders".
The waiting period for refugees to be processed and receive travel authorization to the U.S. usually can take years. This status provides a direct path to U.S. citizenship.
This same Monday, Washington ended a migration protection that protects thousands of Afghan citizens from deportation and allows them to work legally in the U.S., under the justification that the situation in Afghanistan has "improved" and the migrants who fled after the departure of U.S. troops can return to their country.
Several protesters gathered at Dulles Airport to protest the arrival of white South Africans as refugees, in an accelerated process that denotes a "special treatment", as they denounced to local media.
