VIRGINIA, US - The first group of white South Africans granted refugee status arrived in the United States. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau greeted them at Dulles airport in Virginia on Monday.
The president made it clear that Afrikaners in South Africa who are the victims of unjust racial discrimination would be welcome to come to the United States.
READ: DIRCO warns Afrikaners seeking refuge in US of challenges ahead
President Donald Trump has blocked mostly non-white refugee admissions from the rest of the world... But in February offered to resettle Afrikaners, the descendants of mostly Dutch settlers. The move has drawn criticism from Democrats and stirred confusion in South Africa.
The South African government maintains there is no evidence of persecution. And that claims of a "white genocide" in the country have not been backed up by evidence.
The once-ruling white minority has retained most of its wealth amassed since colonial times - and still own three-quarters of private land, with about 20 times the wealth of the Black majority.