The United States has seen a significant influx of white Afrikaners seeking refuge, with nearly 5,000 individuals entering the country under a program initiated by President Donald Trump. The program, which began nearly a year ago, was based on claims of persecution faced by the South African minority. According to a document obtained by AFP, the Afrikaners, descendants of the first European settlers in South Africa, were offered refuge under the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
The majority of those resettled, totaling 4,499 individuals, are from South Africa, with three Afghans also included in the list. The U. S.
Department of State’s Bureau of Population document indicates that these resettlements took place across 48 states from October 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. Another 340 South Africans were admitted in the previous financial year following Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.
The period of February and March this year witnessed the highest number of arrivals, with more than 1,300 individuals being resettled each month. This surge in arrivals followed a May 2022 announcement by Trump’s administration, which offered refugee status to the white Afrikaner community, describing them as victims of racial discrimination and even “genocide.”The South African government, however, strongly disputes these claims.
The first group of around 50 Afrikaners traveled to the United States on a chartered flight on May 12, 2022. Subsequent arrivals utilized commercial flights. The Trump administration’s decision to prioritize white South Africans for refugee status came amidst a broader reduction in refugee admissions, with the government planning to slash refugee admissions to 7,500 in fiscal year 2026, a significant decrease from the over 100,000 annually under the Democratic President Joe Biden.
The tensions between Pretoria and Washington have been heightened by South Africa’s December raid on a center established to expedite resettlement applications to the United States. The U. S.
Government has consistently alleged that Afrikaners have been persecuted since the end of white minority rule in 1994, pointing to attacks on their farms and the requirement for black representation in business. In contrast, the South African government maintains that black South Africans are the primary victims of the country’s high crime rate and that economic empowerment laws are designed to address inequalities stemming from apartheid.
Source: Africanews
Original author: AfricaNews
