In two recent articles for Boise State Public Radio and the Idaho Statesman, Lisa Meierotto, a professor of global studies, shared insight on the resettlement process for the first group of Afrikaners granted refugee status in the United States. Two of the families in the group will be relocating to Twin Falls, Idaho.
Meierotto noted that the resettlement process has been unusually quick. “Chartering the airplane and making those travel plans happen so fast is really different than the typical process that we’ve seen,” she said in the article for Boise State Public Radio.
Refugees typically spend a long time undergoing vetting in a secondary country before being allowed into the U.S., a process which can take up to eight years. The Afrikaners’ quick arrival is a sharp contrast with the thousands of already-approved refugees left in limbo following the broader pause on admissions, Meierotto said.