{"id":50084,"date":"2026-02-16T11:38:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=50084"},"modified":"2026-02-16T11:38:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:38:02","slug":"9-months-on-south-african-refugees-in-the-united-states-face-an-uphill-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/02\/16\/9-months-on-south-african-refugees-in-the-united-states-face-an-uphill-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"9 months on \u2013 South African refugees in the United States face an uphill battle \u2013 Newsday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>An investigation by The Free Press<\/strong> has found that many of the Afrikaner refugees who moved to the United States are living in unhealthy and unsafe conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Claims by these refugees included living in cockroach-infested apartments, eating a single meal a day, and having miles-long walks to buy groceries \u2013 even in snowy conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe left everything behind. We both had good jobs. We had a house, cars,\u201d said one refugee. \u201cWe left everything to come to the US for our safety.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to another refugee who spoke to The Free Press, the limited stipend they receive forces them to live in high-risk neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe come from a place where you have to grow a set of eyes on the back of your head, only to move to another unsafe place and be told by the locals you\u2019re now in harm\u2019s way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How refugees are supported<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/9-months-on-%E2%80%93-South-African-refugees-in-the-United.png?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/9-months-on-\u2013-South-African-refugees-in-the-United.png 1200w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Afrikaner-refugees-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Afrikaner-refugees-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Afrikaner-refugees-600x338.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Refugees who arrive in the United States are meant to be looked after by one of seven nonprofit organisations.<\/p>\n<p>These entities must help refugees find temporary housing, give them money to buy food, and facilitate interactions with government agencies to help refugees get Social Security numbers and public medical aid.<\/p>\n<p>However, many of the Afrikaner refugees said they have mostly been left to fend for themselves.<\/p>\n<p>One refugee said their non-profit partner had found them a rental home in North Carolina, but then claimed all resettlement funds had been used up on their rent.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the refugees have been supported in part by a neighbour.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI gave them air mattresses and pillows, because their beds weren\u2019t appropriate, and I\u2019ve taken them to the ministry to get clothing,\u201d said the neighbour.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like they\u2019re being neglected, and the agency is setting them up for failure.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">America\u2019s controversial refugee strategy<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771241875_252_9-months-on-%E2%80%93-South-African-refugees-in-the-United.png?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771241875_252_9-months-on-\u2013-South-African-refugees-in-the-United.png 1200w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Trump-on-farm-murders-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Trump-on-farm-murders-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Trump-on-farm-murders-600x338.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>The fast-tracking of Afrikaners as US refugees has been a controversial topic, both in the US and in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>The US has provided Afrikaners with refugee status based on the disputed idea that there is an ongoing \u201cgenocide\u201d against Afrikaners in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Afrikaner refugees have been fast-tracked into the US, even though under the Trump administration, the maximum number of refugees was decreased from 125,000 per year to 7,500 per year.<\/p>\n<p>Over 1,500 Afrikaners have arrived in the US since May 2025, meaning more than 20% of the US\u2019s total refugees it will accept comprise Afrikaners.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe admissions of up to 7,500 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year 2026 are justified by humanitarian concerns or are otherwise in the national interest,\u201d said Trump in a Presidential Determination last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe admissions numbers shall primarily be allocated among Afrikaners from South Africa pursuant to Executive Order 14204, and other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>US Representative Jamie Raskin, Senator Dick Durbin, and other Democrats responded to Trump\u2019s determination with deep criticism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis bizarre presidential determination is not only morally indefensible, but it is also illegal and invalid,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Gideon Maltz, CEO of Tent Partnership for Refugees, said that refugees help address labour shortages and that the program \u201chas been extraordinarily good for America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDismantling it today is not putting America first,\u201d added Maltz.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Afrikaner refugee status<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771241878_680_9-months-on-%E2%80%93-South-African-refugees-in-the-United.png?resize=640%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771241878_680_9-months-on-\u2013-South-African-refugees-in-the-United.png 1200w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ramaphosa-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ramaphosa-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/newsday.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ramaphosa-600x338.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The South African government said<\/strong> that the determination\u2019s focus on Afrikaners appeared to \u201crest on a premise that is factually inaccurate and a disregard for our constitutional processes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe claim of a \u2018white genocide\u2019 in South Africa is widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence,\u201d said Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesperson Chrispin Phiri.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has also received criticism from within the US for his prioritisation of Afrikaner refugees.<\/p>\n<p>Gregory Meeks, ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, <strong>told the BBC<\/strong> that it was \u201cnot just a racist dog whistle, it\u2019s a politically motivated rewrite of history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Bill Frelick, Director of the Refugee and Migrants Rights division of Human Rights Watch, said Trump\u2019s actions undermine a long history of the US helping people in need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea that there were refugees who had been identified, vetted, who had spent years as refugees, and their hopes for admission to the United States after years of suffering had been crushed, that now the one exception would be made for Afrikaners just seems like a cruel twist to those refugees to whom the door was closed in their face,\u201d <strong>Frelick told PBS.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt sends a message that unless you\u2019re a member of a privileged group that the U.S. has a preference for, the door is closed to you entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"text-center border p-3 bg-light mt-4 rounded\">You have read 1 out of 5 free articles. Log in or register for unlimited access.<\/div>\n<p>                        <!-- Share Data Setup for JavaScript --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#months #South #African #refugees #United #States #face #uphill #battle #Newsday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An investigation by The Free Press has found that many of the Afrikaner refugees who moved to the United States&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50086,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50084\/revisions\/50086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}