American officials welcomed a group of 59 white South Africans at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday afternoon, in a ceremony greeting them as refugees based on the argument that they are fleeing discrimination and racially based violence in their home country.

The first group of Afrikaners have arrived in the United States, claiming they were victims of persecution or had reason to fear persecution in their home country.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week criticized White South Africans who claimed refugee status in the U.S. as "cowardly."