WASHINGTON — Federal officials will welcome up to 17,500 white South African refugees to the United States through September, citing concerns about discrimination and persecution faced by the Afrikaner community in their homeland.
The decision represents a substantial increase from the initial plan to accept 7,500 refugees, primarily Afrikaners, during the same timeframe. Officials explained that “unforeseen developments in South Africa created an emergency refugee situation.”
South African leadership has rejected these characterizations as unfounded. However, President Donald Trump has maintained that the white Afrikaner population faces systematic discrimination and violence, especially targeting agricultural communities. This dispute has led to suspended aid to South Africa, heated discussions between leaders, and a boycott of last year’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg.
The State Department informed Congress Monday about accepting Afrikaners — white South Africans primarily descended from Dutch colonists — as refugees through the fiscal year ending in September. The administration’s decision was detailed in an emergency notice to lawmakers Monday evening, which The Associated Press obtained. CNN initially broke the story about the revised refugee numbers.
Federal law requires the administration to notify Congress about annual refugee admission levels and seek consultation. Government representatives will meet with lawmakers later this week for required discussions, according to a congressional source who requested anonymity regarding the private session.
Officials pointed to hostile rhetoric from South African government “across multiple ministries and political parties” that “has sought to undermine the U.S. resettlement program and attacked Afrikaners.” They referenced recent statements from President Cyril Ramaphosa and other South African leaders, plus a December raid by South African authorities on a U.S. refugee processing facility, which officials condemned as “unacceptable.”
“This escalating hostility heightens the risks to Afrikaners in South Africa, who are already subject to far-reaching government-sponsored race-based discrimination,” the State Department stated in its notice.
Resettling the additional 10,000 refugees will cost approximately $100 million, according to State Department estimates.
The matter sparked a heated Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ramaphosa last year, where Trump showed a video of a far-left politician singing a chant with lyrics “kill the farmer.” Trump has repeatedly claimed South Africa fails to address systematic killings of white farmers.
South African specialists say no evidence exists of whites being racially targeted, though farmers of all backgrounds face violence in the high-crime nation. During their May 2025 meeting, Ramaphosa stated “we are completely opposed to” the behavior Trump referenced and emphasized “that is not government policy” and “our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying.”
The administration’s broader refugee approach differs dramatically from previous presidents, substantially reducing admission numbers. The original 7,500 figure disclosed last year marked the lowest refugee admissions since the program started in 1980.
