The U.S. State Department informed Congress on February 3 that it would increase the refugee quota for Afrikaners (white South Africans) from 7,500 to 17,500 in the fiscal year ending in September. The resettlement cost for the additional 10,000 people is estimated at around $100 million.
This move comes amid repeated false claims by President Donald Trump that Afrikaners are racially targeted and face 'white genocide.' His administration has also cut aid to South Africa, boycotted the G20 summit in Johannesburg last year, and rescinded an invitation for South Africa to attend this year's G20.
In May 2025, the U.S. began accepting white South Africans as refugees while suspending resettlement programs for refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan. In the fiscal year ending September 2024, the U.S. admitted more than 100,000 refugees.
The State Department cited 'unexpected developments in South Africa that have created a refugee emergency,' accusing the South African government of a 'hostile attitude' toward Afrikaners. It also referenced a December raid on a U.S. refugee processing center in South Africa. South Africa justified the action as the deportation of seven Kenyans working illegally in the country.
Afrikaners are descendants of Dutch and French settlers who once dominated South Africa during the apartheid era, oppressing the black majority. After apartheid ended, affirmative action policies helped create a black middle and upper class. However, more than 30 years later, deep inequality persists: the unemployment rate among whites is 12%, while among blacks it is 48%.
Despite this, 'black economic empowerment' policies, combined with high crime rates, have led some white South Africans to feel they are victims of racism. The conspiracy theory of 'white genocide' has long been a staple of far-right racist circles and has recently been amplified by South African-born billionaire Elon Musk and right-wing media commentator Tucker Carlson.
