The Trump administration intends to welcome up to 17,500 additional White Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees in the next 12 months. This information, found in a notice sent to Congress, was obtained by CBS News.
The State Department has communicated to congressional officials that the administration is allocating 17,500 refugee slots for fiscal year 2027. These slots will primarily benefit Afrikaners, whom President Trump claims are oppressed because of their race. The fiscal year 2027 begins in October.
While the second Trump administration has largely restricted the U.S. refugee resettlement program for those fleeing global persecution and violence, it has made an exception for Afrikaners. Thousands have been resettled over the past 18 months. Officials portray Afrikaners as victims of racial oppression in post-apartheid South Africa. However, the South African government denies persecuting the ethnic minority, which consists mainly of European descendants from the Netherlands.
The State Department stated, “Afrikaners face the seizure of agricultural property without compensation, government policies aimed at dismantling equal opportunity in employment, education, and business, and hateful rhetoric that fuels violence against racially disfavored minorities.”
The first group of Afrikaners arrived for resettlement and listened to a speech at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on May 12, 2025. The image was captured by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.
Recently, U.S. authorities imposed sanctions on South African officials accused of discriminating against Afrikaners. The resettlement effort is expected to cost the U.S. government $500 million. The notice to Congress expressed confidence that Afrikaners will assimilate into American society without straining resources meant for U.S. citizens and noted that other countries are not expected to resettle Afrikaners.
President Trump has described the situation as a “genocide” against Afrikaners in South Africa. In a previous Oval Office meeting, he confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a video showing murders of farmers, a claim that has been disputed. A “60 Minutes” report recently featured Afrikaners denying the genocide claims, attributing farm murders to a broader issue of crime affecting all South Africans.
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