Trump Plans US Refuge For 17,500 White South Africans, Sparks Backlash

The Donald Trump administration plans to admit up to 17,500 mostly white South African refugees to the United States in fiscal year 2027, according to a notice sent to Congress, as Washington continues to reshape a refugee programme that historically helped people fleeing war and persecution worldwide.

The administration said in the notice that white South Africans, primarily Afrikaners, face land seizures and other forms of persecution in South Africa. It also argued they would be likely to assimilate into American society and said about USD 500 million would be spent on resettling the new arrivals.

South Africa has repeatedly rejected Washington’s characterisation of Afrikaners as a persecuted minority. Pretoria has disputed claims that white South Africans face a race-based humanitarian crisis.

The move has drawn criticism from organisations that have traditionally helped refugees settle in the US. Naomi Steinberg, vice president for refugee and immigration policy and advocacy at HIAS, said the administration was diminishing a programme that had provided a “lifesaving pathway” for people fleeing violence and persecution for more than four decades.

US presidents set an annual refugee admissions ceiling, historically distributing places across regions while considering wars and humanitarian crises. HIAS said an average of 92,000 refugees were admitted annually since the programme began in 1980.

Trump had initially set the refugee ceiling at 7,500 last year, with most places again intended for Afrikaners. The administration later raised it to 17,500, citing what it called “unforeseen developments in South Africa” that had created an emergency refugee situation.

Trump had sharply reduced refugee admissions during his first presidency. The Biden administration subsequently expanded the programme and set a goal of 125,000 admissions in its final year in office.

After returning to the White House, Trump suspended the refugee programme, leaving people approved for resettlement stranded in different parts of the world. The administration later reopened it but limited the programme primarily to white South Africans.

The latest figures highlight the shift. Nearly 3,000 refugees had entered the US during fiscal year 2026 through August, with all but three reportedly coming from South Africa.

Afrikaners are descendants mainly of Dutch and French settlers who arrived in South Africa during the 17th century. They played a central role in the apartheid system, which lasted from 1948 to 1994. Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first Black president after the country’s first democratic, multiracial elections that year.