Trump Administration Plans to Admit up to 10,000 More White South African Refugees Into the United States

The Trump administration plans to admit up to 10,000 additional white South African refugees into the United States in the coming months, expanding a controversial policy that has prioritized Afrikaner applicants while sharply reducing refugee admissions from most other countries.

According to an emergency notice sent by the State Department to Congress on Monday, the administration now intends to admit as many as 17,500 Afrikaners during the current fiscal year ending in September, up from the previously disclosed ceiling of 7,500. The administration said "unforeseen developments in South Africa created an emergency refugee situation."

The State Department argued that white Afrikaners, descendants mainly of Dutch settlers, face "far-reaching government-sponsored race-based discrimination" and increasing hostility in South Africa, as ABC News reports. The notice cited recent remarks by South African political figures as well as a December incident in which South African officials reportedly entered a U.S. refugee processing center.

The estimated cost of resettling the additional refugees is approximately $100 million.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed white South African farmers face systematic violence and discrimination, allegations the South African government strongly denies. During a contentious Oval Office meeting last year with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump played footage featuring a political chant referencing farmers and accused South Africa of failing to protect white communities.

Ramaphosa rejected those claims, saying: "we are completely opposed to" such rhetoric and adding that "that is not government policy."

The refugee expansion further underscores the administration's broader shift in refugee policy. Since October 2025, the United States has admitted 4,499 refugees, according to Refugee Processing Center data cited in earlier reports. All but three were from South Africa, while most refugee admissions from other regions were effectively suspended.

Administration officials have defended the policy as a humanitarian response focused on Afrikaners and "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination." Critics, however, say the approach departs sharply from longstanding U.S. refugee practices that prioritized applicants from a wider range of conflict zones and humanitarian crises.

The policy has also intensified tensions between Washington and Pretoria over issues including land reform, affirmative action policies and broader diplomatic relations.

At the same time, Reuters reported in March that some white South Africans who emigrated to the United States are considering returning home, citing concerns over safety, living costs and family ties in South Africa.