The Trump administration grants expedited refugee status to Afrikaners, citing racial persecution, triggering controversy over selective immigration policies as thousands of other refugees, including U.S. allies, remain barred.
On Monday afternoon, fifty-nine white South Africans arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, were greeted by U.S. officials, and were granted “refugee status.”
The newly arrived group included families with young children. They were flown to the United States on a flight chartered by the State Department. Upon arrival, they were met by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar.
President Donald Trump announced that the refugee applications for South Africa’s Afrikaner minority have been expedited due to their being victims of “racial discrimination.”
Why Is Trump So Accepting of These Afrikaner Refugees?
Trump campaigned on a vow that he would carry out the largest mass deportation of illegal immigrants, while one of his first acts after being sworn in was to sign an executive order that sought to realign the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
“The United States cannot absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, protect their safety and security, and ensure the appropriate assimilation of refugees. This order suspends the USRAP until further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States,” the executive order explained on January 20, 2025.
However, just a month later, Trump made an exception for the Afrikaners and invited them to resettle in the United States, arguing that they were facing discrimination.
“[sic] South Africa is being terrible, plus, to long-time Farmers in the country. They are confiscating their LAND and FARMS, and MUCH WORSE THAN THAT. A bad place to be right now, and we are stopping all Federal Funding. To go a step further, any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa, seeking to flee that country for safety reasons, will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship. This process will begin immediately!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform last month.
Upon their arrival on Monday, Landau suggested the Afrikaners “could be assimilated easily into our country,” and added, “They tell quite harrowing stories of the violence that they faced in South Africa that was not redressed by the authorities by the unjust application of the law. The United States, as we were proud to say, has stood for equal justice under law and the fair and impartial application of the law.”
The South African government has disputed the allegations that the Afrikaners were being persecuted and that they shouldn’t meet the criteria for refugee status.
“A refugee is someone who has to leave their country out of fear of political persecution, religious persecution, or economic persecution,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told the BBC. “And they don’t fit that bill.”
As the BBC reported, President Ramaphosa had “signed a controversial bill” in January that allowed the government to seize privately owned land without compensation, but only when deemed “equitable in the public interest.”
To date, no land has been seized.
Trump doubled down on his claims that they were facing discrimination or worse.
“Farmers are being killed,” Trump told reporters on Monday.
“They happen to be white. Whether they are white or Black makes no difference to me. White farmers are being brutally killed, and the land is being confiscated in South Africa.”
It is unclear how many Afrikaners could eventually be resettled in the United States, but at least 8,200 had sought refugee status.
Other Africans Have Been Denied Entry to the United States, but Not These Afrikaners
Even as the Afrikaners have been granted entry, literally hundreds of thousands had been on a list that considered their admission when Trump suspended USRAP in January.
According to NRP, some of those refugees had even been approved for entry and had flights scheduled, but were then barred from entry into the country.
“The idea that there were refugees who had been identified, vetted, who had spent years as refugees, and their hopes for admission to the United States after years of suffering had been crushed, that now the one exception would be made for Afrikaners just seems like a cruel twist to those refugees to whom the door was closed in their face,” Bill Frelick, director of Human Rights Watch’s Refugee and Migrant Rights program, told NPR last month.
The administration has rejected the refugee admissions from other countries, including those from Afghanistan, who had worked with the United States before the Taliban retook power in 2021.
At least one faith-based group, Episcopal Migration Ministries, said it will halt its decades-long partnership with the U.S. government to help resettle South Africans. The group cited its “commitment to racial justice and reconciliation.”
“It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,” Rowe said.
“I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because they serve our country.”
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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