Mr Kleinhaus defends the US president, telling the BBC he left his homeland after receiving death threats in WhatsApp messages. But for Mr Kleinhaus, his situation in Buffalo, New York, is already a better one. "My children are safe," says Mr Kleinhaus, whose wife died in a road accident in 2006. The status of white South African farmers has long been a rallying cry on the right and far-right of American politics. In February, Trump signed an executive order granting refugee status to Afrikaners, such as Mr Kleinhaus, who he said were being persecuted.