Understanding the 'Africaner Act': US plan to assist Afrikaners fleeing persecution.
Image: Marco Longari / AFP
As the United States revs up plans to take in Afrikaners as refugees fleeing "persecution" in South Africa, the matter has escalated as a Bill has been tabled in Congress outlining the Asylum for Farmers and Refugees in Crisis and Necessary Emigration Resettlement (Africaner) Bill.
The act was introduced by Republican Congressman Troy Nehls and will give Priority-2 refugee status to Afrikaners.
"The Afrikaner population in South Africa has been experiencing unjust racial discrimination, and the situation continues to get worse by the day," said Nehls.
"President Trump is right. How Afrikaners are being treated is a massive human rights violation. My bill will offer Afrikaners a pathway to the United States to flee the persecution they’ve lived through initiated by their own government."
Here is a breakdown of the 'Africaner Act':
The US will classify all South African nationals who are white who have either 'suffered persecution' or are 'fearful of persecution' because they are white, as beneficiaries. Families and parents will also qualify.
Only if the parents are nationals of another country would they be ineligible. Even if they are not now residing in South Africa, they would still qualify.
They are still eligible for refugee status if they have the right to apply in the US because they are relatives of someone who lives there or because of another immigration classification. This includes those with work permits and more.
Afrikaners who have been detained or subjected to other government actions for political reasons would not be refused entry.
Sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act reaffirm that qualified South Africans fulfil the qualifying criteria for admission as refugees under US law without having to personally show persecution. They still need to go through security screenings, medical tests, and background checks, although the US government has officially accepted their refugee status.
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