Trump Administration’s Plan to Resettle Afrikaners as Refugees

The Trump administration is planning to welcome up to 17,500 more White Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees over the next year. This plan, communicated to Congress, focuses primarily on Afrikaners, whom President Trump claims experience oppression. The new fiscal year 2027 begins in October.

While the U.S. refugee resettlement program has largely halted for most fleeing persecution globally, there is an exemption for Afrikaners. Thousands of Afrikaners have been resettled in the past 18 months. Trump administration officials describe Afrikaners as victims of racial oppression in post-apartheid South Africa. The South African government denies persecuting this ethnic minority, descended from European settlers, mostly from the Netherlands.

The State Department’s notice to Congress highlights that Afrikaners face threats such as seizure of agricultural land without compensation, and policies undermining equal opportunity in employment, education, and business. Additionally, it mentions rhetoric inciting violence against them.

“Afrikaners face the seizure of agricultural property without compensation; government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business; and hateful rhetoric fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored minorities,” the State Department stated.

Recently, the U.S. imposed sanctions on South African officials accused of discriminating against Afrikaners. The resettlement effort is estimated to cost the U.S. government $500 million.

The U.S. expects Afrikaners from South Africa to integrate well, preserving resources for U.S. citizens. President Trump claims a “genocide” against Afrikaners in South Africa and confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about it, showing a video of farmer murders. These claims are disputed.

A “60 Minutes” report featured Afrikaners denying a “genocide” against Whites, linking farm murders to broader issues affecting all races in South Africa.