The United States plans to admit 10,000 additional white South Africans as refugees this year, with the Trump administration describing the move as a response to what it called an “emergency refugee situation” in South Africa.

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The decision raises the planned intake of mostly white Afrikaner refugees from about 7,500 to 17,500 for the fiscal year ending in September.

Since returning to office last year, President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that white Afrikaners in South Africa are being racially targeted and face a “white genocide”. South Africa’s government has strongly rejected those accusations.

Claims of discrimination

The administration has also taken several diplomatic steps against South Africa, including cutting aid, boycotting last year’s G20 summit in Johannesburg and excluding the country from this year’s G20 gathering, which is due to take place at one of Trump’s resorts in Miami.

The US began accepting white South Africans as refugees in May 2025, even as it suspended refugee admissions for people fleeing conflicts and persecution in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In the fiscal year ending September 2024, before Trump returned to office, the US admitted more than 100,000 refugees overall.

Emergency notice to Congress

On Monday, the US state department sent Congress an emergency notification outlining the expanded refugee programme.

According to the Associated Press, which reviewed the document, the cost of resettling the additional 10,000 Afrikaners is estimated at around $100m (£75m).

The notice said “unforeseen developments in South Africa created an emergency refugee situation” and accused South African officials and political parties of undermining the US refugee programme.

It also referred to a December raid by South African authorities on a US refugee processing centre. At the time, Washington described the action as “unacceptable”.

South Africa’s government said the operation targeted seven Kenyan nationals who were allegedly working in the country illegally without permits.

The state department argued that growing hostility toward the programme increased risks for Afrikaners, whom it described as facing “government-sponsored race-based discrimination”.

South Africa’s inequality debate

Afrikaners are descendants of mainly Dutch and French settlers who dominated South Africa during apartheid, the system of racial segregation that ended in the early 1990s.

Under apartheid, the white minority held political and economic power while the black majority faced severe restrictions and widespread poverty.

Since the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first black president, governments have introduced affirmative action and “black economic empowerment” policies aimed at addressing historic inequalities.

Despite those reforms, South Africa remains one of the world’s most unequal societies.

Official figures show unemployment among white South Africans stands at about 12%, compared with roughly 48% among black South Africans.

Some white South Africans argue that affirmative action policies now unfairly disadvantage them, while high crime levels have contributed to feelings of insecurity across communities.

Far-right conspiracy theory

Claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa have long circulated among far-right groups internationally, often focusing on attacks against white farmers.

The theory has repeatedly been dismissed by experts and South African authorities, who say there is no evidence of a coordinated campaign targeting white citizens.

In recent years, the narrative has also been promoted by South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk and conservative media figure Tucker Carlson.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 21 May 2026

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Amazing that people still believe anything Trump's says.

There appears to be no evidence of "white genocide" occurring in South Africa. Even Afrikaans argue that white Afrikaners are not under any "existential threat" and urge the international community to challenge Trump’s misinformation (France 24 https://f24.my/BZ1C).

The common theme coming from media sources is "Afrikaners do not want to be refugees. We love and are committed to our homeland" (Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/no-thanks-white-south-africans-turn-down-trumps-immigration-offer-2025-02-09/).

One really had to question what his true motives are, and why no one holds him to account!

Sympathy in short supply it seems among these White South Africans:

Hiring a domestic is expensive in the US, you will have to treat her humanely with respect, and she will not necessarily be Bleck. You will have to start picking up after yourself and know how to prepare a tea or toast bread.

Well done America.

The persecution of whites in South Africa is disgusting and the msm needs to stop ignoring it because it doesnt fit their "white man bad, black man good" narrative.

Trump rushing to recruit more Fascist voters.

1 hour ago, JimHuaHin said:

Trump rushing to recruit more Fascist voters.

Long may he continue, and get the Republicans routed at the mid-terms!

“Planned intake of mostly white”??? Does that mean mulatto Akrikaners, too?

One big question is: Will the South Africans actually want to move to the US? Most Afrikaners have been settled for generations.

Are they being discriminated against in housing, the job markets, aso? Poverty?

Really glad there’s no racism in the USA, eh! Everybody wants to move to the US because of its diverse, immigrant culture. /s

Gotta be Leon behind this sucker move…

As expected from the white nationalist maga fascist Trump regime.

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

As expected from the white nationalist maga fascist Trump regime.

Presumably you'd prefer the Kill the Boer movement in South Africa to continue unabated, legitimized by their courts and played out in the continued brutal horrific slayings of white farmers?

Trump is taking a stand against it and should be commended although I suspect the symptoms will prevent you doing that.

7 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Presumably you'd prefer the Kill the Boer movement in South Africa to continue unabated, legitimized by their courts and played out in the continued brutal horrific slayings of white farmers?

Trump is taking a stand against it and should be commended although I suspect the symptoms will prevent you doing that.

His refugee agenda is racist.

15 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Presumably you'd prefer the Kill the Boer movement in South Africa to continue unabated, legitimized by their courts and played out in the continued brutal horrific slayings of white farmers?

Trump is taking a stand against it and should be commended although I suspect the symptoms will prevent you doing that.

Thought he might have more important

things on his mind ?

Like the ballroom !!!

17 hours ago, Jingthing said:

His refugee agenda is racist.

Whites are a minority in South Africa so i thought you'd consider it DEI/positive discrimination ?

Or is that only for black people ? Its so hard to keep up with Liberals machiavellianism, they end up tieing themselves in racist knots 😀

On 5/21/2026 at 2:21 AM, JimHuaHin said:

Trump rushing to recruit more Fascist voters.

The numbers are tiny in the grand scheme of things, and even support for this sort of action is fairly lukewarm among the electorate, similar to the Anti-weaponsization Fund. I suspect he genuinely believes both measures are genuinely popular, when in reality, these are progammes, at taxpayers expense, that benefits, in some cases, ill-deservadly.

Some White South Africans are going home;