White South Africans arrive in U.S. after Trump administration grants refugee status

A plane carrying dozens of White South Africans arrived at Dulles International Airport on Monday, a State Department official said, after the Trump administration granted them refugee status in the United States.

The group — which includes families with children — was greeted at the D.C.-area airport by U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar. Landau told reporters the group has faced "egregious discrimination" in South Africa — which the country's government has denied.

Landau said the new arrivals were "carefully vetted" in South Africa prior to their arrival. They departed the country's capital city of Johannesburg via a charter plane on Sunday.