Trump's Refugee Program Now 99.95% White South Africans—As Other Africans Are Shut Out

The numbers are stark: of the 6,000-plus refugees admitted to the United States between October 2025 and April 2026, all but three came from South Africa. And now, the Trump administration wants to bring in 10,000 more—all of them white Afrikaners.

Under a proposal submitted to Congress in late May, the U.S. would lift its record-low refugee admissions figure from 7,500 to 17,500, with the additional 10,000 openings reserved exclusively for Afrikaners. This comes as the administration continues to block the entry of refugees from other countries—including war-torn regions in the Middle East, Africa, and Central America.

'Clear Racism'

President Trump has repeatedly claimed that Afrikaners face racial persecution and genocide in South Africa—claims that have been rejected by the U.N. Human Rights Office and other international bodies. Last year, he cut off aid to South Africa and boycotted the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

"Whiteness is being recast as endangered," says Lebohang Pheko, a professor of practice at the University of Johannesburg, in an interview with Democracy Now. Refugee advocates have called the policy "clear racism."

The Episcopal Church, a longtime refugee services provider, announced it would end those services with the U.S. government and decline resettling white South Africans over others, citing its "steadfast commitment to racial justice."

What's Happening in South Africa

While farm attacks are real in South Africa, experts say they have been exaggerated for political purposes. More than 90% of South Africa's population is Black, Indian, or multiracial, yet the Trump administration has singled out Afrikaners—the white, primarily Afrikaans-speaking minority descended from Dutch settlers.

Meanwhile, actual violence in South Africa is surging—but it's targeting African and Asian foreign nationals, not white South Africans. In April and May 2026, a citizen-led movement called March and March organized violent demonstrations against undocumented migrants in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban, with sometimes fatal results.

Human Rights Watch documented attacks in which vigilantes whipped, pepper-sprayed, and used stun guns on Cameroonian, Zimbabwean, and other African shop owners—whether documented or not. A 43-year-old Cameroonian man in Durban, married to a South African woman and lawfully residing in the country, described being attacked by approximately ten men who broke down his shop door and assaulted him and three colleagues.

On April 27, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concerns over the xenophobic harassment and attacks. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights called on the South African government to investigate and hold perpetrators accountable.

Where Afrikaners Are Going

The largest share of South African refugees—over 500—has arrived in Texas, followed by Florida and California. The exception to South African arrivals came in November, when three refugees from Afghanistan landed in Colorado.

A South African refugee who arrived in the United States this spring described her journey in a recent Washington Post profile. Halfway through fiscal year 2026, refugee arrivals have already surpassed half of the 7,500 admissions cap—a sharp reversal from the last full year of the Biden administration, when over 100,000 refugees arrived, a three-decade high.

“"All but three of the 6,000-plus refugees let into the United States between October 2025 and April 2026 have come from South Africa."”

Why African Diaspora Communities Are Watching

For Kenyan, Nigerian, Ghanaian, and other African diaspora communities in the U.S., the policy represents a troubling signal: that humanitarian protection is being allocated not based on need, but on race. Thousands of African refugees from Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia remain in limbo in camps across East Africa, unable to access U.S. resettlement even as Afrikaners are fast-tracked.

The Trump administration's separate attempt to arrest refugees already in the U.S.—ahead of their obtaining green cards—has been blocked by courts. Asked about the prospect of admitting refugees beyond South Africans, a State Department spokesperson said they do not discuss the details of specific cases.

What Comes Next

Congress must approve the proposed increase from 7,500 to 17,500 refugee admissions. Advocacy groups, faith-based organizations, and African diaspora coalitions are mobilizing opposition, calling the policy discriminatory and a betrayal of America's humanitarian commitments.

Meanwhile, South Africa's xenophobic violence continues—targeting the very African migrants who cannot access U.S. protection, while white South Africans are granted preferential refugee status on the basis of claims international bodies have deemed false.

Reporting drawn from Democracy Now, The Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Human Rights Watch.