Trump Accelerates Afrikaner Refugee Resettlement

The Trump administration is moving swiftly to expand refugee resettlement for Afrikaners fleeing South Africa, following a February executive order that cited systemic racial discrimination and government-sanctioned violence. A senior State Department official confirmed to The Daily Caller that the U.S. will admit hundreds, potentially thousands of Afrikaner refugees by late summer—marking a significant shift in U.S. refugee policy.

The executive order, signed by President Trump, accused the South African government of fostering discrimination through race-based land seizures, unequal access to jobs and education, and tolerance of violence against white landowners. It suspends U.S. foreign aid to South Africa until further notice and mandates expedited resettlement for Afrikaners who can demonstrate persecution “on the basis of race, property ownership, or political affiliation.”

In early May, 59 Afrikaner refugees arrived in the U.S.; another nine landed in Atlanta on Friday. Officials say the program is poised to “scale up massively” to address a backlog of more than 50,000 applications.

“Everyone who has been admitted to the United States thus far … has demonstrated a persecution claim,” the official told the outlet. “People have suffered attacks on their farms that were racially motivated.”

The policy stands in sharp contrast to Biden-era refugee priorities, which emphasized resettlement from war-torn Muslim-majority nations and the Global South. Trump’s approach reframes refugee policy through the lens of anti-Western persecution, prioritizing groups facing race-based retribution in post-colonial states.

Faith-based refugee organizations have expressed unease. Episcopal Migration Services announced plans to scale back cooperation with the federal government because it allegedly did not feel comfortable helping white refugees. Church World Service, another longtime partner, questioned whether the new criteria favor Afrikaners over other vulnerable groups.

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