The Trump administration has tried to deport foreign-born protesters for what it calls antisemitic speech. On Monday, the administration resettled an Afrikaner who had a track record of it.
One of the first white South African refugees to arrive in the United States on Monday appears to have made antisemitic comments on social media — grounds the Trump administration has tried to use to deport foreign-born pro-Palestinian activists and deny immigration requests.
The refugee, Charl Kleinhaus, 46, formerly of Limpopo, South Africa, landed in Washington on a chartered jet on Monday with dozens of other Afrikaners, the white ethnic minority that ruled during apartheid. They were given safe haven in the United States by an administration that has made it virtually impossible for any other group to become refugees, including Afghans who helped American forces in their country.
“We just packed our bags and left,” Mr. Kleinhaus said after landing, for “safety reasons.”
White South Africans say they have been discriminated against, including being denied job opportunities and suffering racial violence, though the specifics of the refugees’ cases are unclear. Mr. Kleinhaus and his family traveled onward from Washington to Buffalo, N.Y.
In April 2023, the X account @charlkleinhaus wrote in a now-deleted post that Jews were “untrustworthy” and “a dangerous group” and that “they are not Gods chosen like they believe they are.”
The bio in the account sharing Mr. Kleinhaus’s name says it belongs to an Afrikaner. The account also reshared posts praising President Trump and calling for the beating of a U.S. citizen. It also shared a mix of pro- and anti-Israel posts.
In October 2023, the account shared a video of Christian worshipers clashing with Israeli police that had been posted on a Facebook account called “Israel is a terrorist state.” @charlkleinhaus captioned the video “Jews attacking Christians!”