A group of 59 white South Africans arrived in the United States on Monday after being granted refugee status in a controversial move by the Trump administration, which claimed they were victims of racial persecution.
The Afrikaners were welcomed at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC with American flags and balloons, bypassing the usual months- or years-long vetting process that most refugee applicants face. Notably, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed it was not involved in their resettlement, as is typically required under international refugee protocols.
US President Donald Trump defended the expedited process, claiming Afrikaner farmers were being targeted in a “genocide,” although South African officials and independent observers have strongly rejected this characterisation.
“Farmers are being killed, they happen to be white, but whether they’re white or black makes no difference to me,” Trump told reporters, reiterating his administration’s claim that white South Africans are suffering racially motivated violence and land seizures.
However, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed the claims as false. “They don’t fit that bill,” he said, referencing the international definition of a refugee as someone fleeing genuine political, religious, or economic persecution.
Crime figures from South Africa do show attacks on farms, but there is no evidence to support accusations of genocide or racially targeted killings. South Africa does not break down crime statistics by race, but police data shows that 44 murders were recorded on farms in 2024—eight of them being farmers.
The move has reignited racial tensions and drawn sharp criticism from both US and international organisations. Human Rights Watch described the decision as a “cruel racial twist,” given that the Trump administration suspended refugee admissions from conflict zones, leaving thousands of refugees—many black or from Muslim-majority countries—stranded.
Melissa Keaney of the International Refugee Assistance Project called the decision “a lot of hypocrisy and unequal treatment,” adding that her organisation is suing the Trump administration over the indefinite suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which has left over 120,000 pre-approved refugees in limbo.
Prominent voices, including Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, denounced the decision as “a politically motivated rewrite of history.” The Episcopal Church said it would cut ties with the federal refugee programme due to what it called “preferential treatment” for Afrikaners.
South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled in March after accusing Trump of exploiting “white victimhood as a dog whistle,” to which the US responded by accusing him of “race-baiting.”
The tensions have strained bilateral relations further, especially in the wake of South Africa’s legal campaign at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza—an allegation Israel vehemently denies and Washington has criticised.
Trump’s policy has gained support among some conservatives, including US Vice-President JD Vance, who responded to news of the arrivals with a one-word post on X: “Crazy.”
Meanwhile, South African journalist and Afrikaner author Max du Preez called the claims of persecution “a total absurdity” and “based on nothing.”
The US move marks a significant and controversial deviation from traditional refugee policy, with implications that may echo through international human rights and diplomatic circles for months to come.
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