5,000 South African Afrikaners Accept Trump Refugee Proposal
Last update: April 8, 2026
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Special refugee scheme sparks diplomatic tensions with South Africa.
Nearly 5,000 white Afrikaners have moved to the United States under a programme launched by President Donald Trump almost a year ago, according to a document seen by reporters on Wednesday. The scheme was based on claims that the South African minority faces persecution, which Pretoria strongly denies.
The Trump administration largely ended refugee admissions as part of an immigration crackdown but made an exception for South Africa’s white Afrikaans community, descendants of the first European settlers.
The document from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population shows that 4,499 people resettled across 48 states between October 1 last year and March 31 this year were South Africans, with only three Afghans included. Another 340 South Africans were admitted in the previous financial year after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
February and March recorded the highest arrivals, with more than 1,300 people resettled each month. The first group of around 50 Afrikaners travelled on a chartered flight on May 12, while later arrivals used commercial flights.
Trump’s administration offered refugee status to the minority white Afrikaner community in May last year, citing alleged racial discrimination and claims of “genocide” that the South African government rejects.
The US plan, announced in October, cut total refugee admissions to 7,500 for fiscal year 2026, down from more than 100,000 under Democratic President Joe Biden, prioritising white South Africans.
Tensions between Pretoria and Washington escalated in December when South Africa raided a centre fast-tracking resettlement applications. The US has repeatedly claimed Afrikaners face persecution since the end of white minority rule in 1994, citing farm attacks and economic policies favoring black representation.
South Africa rejects these allegations, highlighting that black citizens are the primary victims of high crime rates and that economic empowerment laws aim to address inequalities inherited from apartheid.
