Ohio Afrikaners Raise $10,000 as $500 License Rules and Aid Cuts Strain Resettlement
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 8
Ohio Afrikaners Raise $10,000 as $500 License Rules and Aid Cuts Strain Resettlement
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 8
Summary
More than $10,000 was raised by May 21 in an Ohio crowdfunding drive to help newly arrived South African refugees cover rent, transport and roughly $500 per person driver’s-license costs.
Ohio’s 2025 licensing rules for lawful residents without citizenship or green cards require classes, supervised driving hours and months of waiting, creating a major barrier in a car-dependent state.
About half of the 206 Afrikaners resettled in Ohio have already left the state, according to agencies assisting them, with transportation problems reportedly limiting access even to food banks.
Federal support has also tightened: the Trump administration cut refugee cash assistance from 12 months to four, while planning 10,000 more South African resettlement places this year.
The strain has sharpened criticism of a program that has brought about 6,300 South Africans to the US even as refugee admissions from countries such as Afghanistan and Ukraine remain largely suspended.