US to increase Afrikaner refugee intake, erect processing ‘village’

The White House is making concessions to drastically increase its intake of Afrikaner refugees in the coming months, a new report has claimed.

This includes setting up a modular village at Pretoria’s US embassy to process applications faster. 

Around 4500 predominantly white Afrikaners are expected to leave the country under the US administration, as implemented by President Donald Trump.

A year ago, the president signed an executive order, offering refuge to those he believes were being “persecuted” and had their properties “stolen”. The South African government has since debunked his views.

US TO RAMP UP AFRIKANER REFUGEE INTAKE

According to a Reuters report, the US administration has signed off on plans to drastically increase the approval rate for applications from South African refugees.

Last year, President Trump allocated an intake of 7500 refugees in the next fiscal year, primarily of Afrikaner descent. However, reports have emerged that this number could exceed 40 000, as around 4 500 applications could be processed each month.

To expedite the process, a contracting document revealed that a modular village – consisting of multiple trailers – would be erected at the US Embassy in Pretoria.

The sense of urgency follows the December raid of a processing site in Sandton, where several illegal Kenyan nationals – contracted to the US Refugee Assistance Programme via RSC Africa, under Church World Services – were arrested and given deportation orders.

At the time, US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott claimed that South Africa’s “interfering in our refugee operations is unacceptable”.

In January this year, the South African government reached an agreement not to “disrupt” the process and would “respect the right of citizens to migrate”.

The move was believed to have been one made to ease diplomatic tensions between the countries.

SUPPORT FROM SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS

Meanwhile, several Afrikaner refugee families have encouraged applicants to pursue the resettlement programme, despite long administrative delays.

The Smiths – who have their own Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, as well as a YouTube channel – have used their platforms to aid and answer questions about their resettlement experience.

Another refugee, Charl Kleinhaus, has also launched his own YouTube and TikTok accounts. On it, he talks about the application process and finding work in the US.

A third, Pieter van der Walt, shares his experiences on his X account.