The United States government has announced it will significantly increase the number of white South Africans admitted as refugees this year, from approximately 7,500 to 17,500, claiming that unforeseen developments in South Africa have created an emergency refugee situation.
Background of the Policy
Since beginning his second term in office last year, President Donald Trump has repeatedly made false claims that white Afrikaners face racial targeting and a so-called "white genocide." The South African government has strongly rebutted these assertions. The Trump administration has also cut aid to South Africa, boycotted the G20 summit in Johannesburg last year, and disinvited South Africa from this year's G20, which will be held at one of Trump's resorts in Miami.
Refugee Admissions Timeline
The US began admitting white South Africans as refugees in May 2025, while simultaneously suspending the refugee settlement programme for individuals fleeing war and persecution in countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan. In the fiscal year ending September 2024, the last full year before Trump took office, the US admitted over 100,000 refugees.
On Monday, the US State Department sent Congress an emergency notice stating it would accept up to 17,500 Afrikaners as refugees in the year ending September. In October, the government had initially planned to admit only 7,500 refugees in total, primarily white South Africans. According to the Associated Press, which reviewed a copy of the notice, the cost of resettling an additional 10,000 white South Africans is estimated at approximately $100 million (£75 million).
State Department Justification
The State Department asserted that the South African government's rhetoric across multiple ministries and political parties has sought to undermine the US resettlement programme and attack Afrikaners. It also cited a South African raid on a US refugee processing centre in December, which the US government described as "unacceptable." South Africa's government defended the action, stating it had deported seven Kenyans working illegally in the country without permits.
"This escalating hostility heightens the risks to Afrikaners in South Africa, who are already subject to far-reaching government-sponsored race-based discrimination," the State Department notice said.
Historical and Social Context
Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch and French settlers, ruled South Africa during the apartheid era, repressing the black majority while ensuring the white minority's safety and wealth. Since the end of apartheid, affirmative action policies have helped create a black elite and middle class. However, more than 30 years after Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black president, the country remains deeply unequal. Official data shows about 12% of white South Africans are unemployed, compared to 48% of black South Africans.
Nevertheless, black economic empowerment policies, along with high crime rates affecting all citizens, have fostered a perception among some white South Africans that they are now victims of racial discrimination. The conspiracy theory of a white genocide has long been a staple of the racist far right, often highlighting incidents where white farmers were murdered. In recent years, this narrative has been amplified by South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk and right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson.
South Africa's President has called Trump's policy to offer refuge to white Afrikaners "racist." This report includes contributions from the Associated Press.
