Johannesburg, South Africa - The U.S. government has formally approved 54 South Africans, mainly white descendants of Dutch colonists, refugee status, and is expected to land in the U.S. on Monday, May 12, with three sources identifying the matter telling NPR. Sources don't want to be named because they work for the U.S. government and are worried about their careers.

U.S. authorities tried to arrange a charter flight on Thursday to take South Africans to Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. on Monday morning, but it is unclear whether they can land in Dulles. If it is not possible, then they will be sent to commercial flights, sources said.

NPR also saw an email confirming the program and then sent newcomers to their final destinations in various states across the country.

The group was one of the first African-Americans to be accepted by the United States after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February.

The Secretary of State and the Department of Homeland Security should take appropriate steps in line with the law to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admissions and placement through the U.S. refugee enrollment program, which is a victim of unjust racial discrimination. It also cuts South Africa's aid.

Sources said the group’s arrival at Dulles Airport is planned to hold a press conference, which will be attended by senior state and Department of Homeland Security officials.

State that agree to accept South Africans include: Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington, Westway some rivers, California, California, Idaho, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada and New York, a source said. They said several people who grant refugee status had family relationships in the United States.

Sources pointed out that the U.S. VIP welcomed refugees at the airport and said the process of interviewing them in South Africa and granting them refugee status was unusually rapid.

Afrikaans have obtained P1 refugee status. According to the State Council website, this is “referred to by designated entities in the individual cases of the program, with the circumstances and obvious need for resettlement.”

Now, South Africans will have a pathway to U.S. citizenship and are eligible for government benefits.

A source told NPR that the UN International Organization for Migration refused to participate in the process. An IOM spokesperson did not immediately respond to solicit comments.

President Trump, his South African-born adviser Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are both facing persecutions in South Africa by the persecution of South African Dutch people, many of whom are farmers.

Trump accused the South African government of "doing something horrible" and said: "They are seizing the land, and in fact what they are doing may be much more than that."

The South African government passed a new land reform bill earlier this year, but so far, no land has been confiscated, and the government said a provision that allows for "free expropriation" can only be used in rare cases.

South Africa's International Relations Department also opposed Trump's allegations that Afrikaners were discriminated against.

"Ironically, the executive order provides a group of people in the U.S. with one of the most privileged people in the U.S., where vulnerable people in other parts of the U.S. are still deported and deprived of asylum," the department said in a statement in February.
On his first day in office, Trump ordered the reorganization of the "Refugee Admissions Program" effectively suspending it, explaining: "The United States lacks the ability to protect its safety and security with the resources of uncompromising Americans, especially refugees, especially refugees."