Nearly 5,000 South Africans Resettle in the United States Under Donald Trump’s Refugee Programme
- The United States Department of State's Bureau of Population released the statistics of how many South Africans entered the country
- Donald Trump's administration prioritised Afrikaners for refugee status, sparking controversy in the US over his immigration policies
- Trump opened up the refugee programme to mainly white Afrikaners following his claims of a white genocide in South Africa
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
USA – Nearly 5,000 South Africans have resettled in the United States of America since Donald Trump implemented his refugee programme.
The US President, who is known for his tough stance on immigrants entering the country, made an exception for South Africa's white Afrikaans community.
Trump allowed Afrikaners to apply for refugee status in the country on the back of his claims that terrible things were happening in South Africa. The US President claimed that Afrikaners were being persecuted in the country and that their lands were being taken away from them.
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Trump has maintained that there’s a white genocide taking place in South Africa, even after a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in May 2025.
Nearly 5,000 South Africans resettle in the US
According to data from the US Department of State's Bureau of Population, 4,496 South Africans have resettled across 48 US states between 1 October 2025 and 31 March 2026.
The majority of those are Afrikaners, but a few others have also made the move. The document also revealed that 340 South Africans were admitted in the previous financial year.
It also showed that there appeared to be an uptick in arrivals in February and March 2026, with more than 1,300 people resettling in the US each month.
Source: Getty Images
Trump administration prioritises Afrikaners
In October 2025, the US government announced that it would slash refugee admissions from more than 100,000 a year to 7,500 for the 2026 financial year. It also announced that priority would be given to white Afrikaners. The decision sparked some division in the US, with some saying that it shut out people from war-torn countries, while fast-tracking a relatively privileged group based on disputed claims.
What you need to know about claims made against South Africa
- The FW De Klerk Foundation has rubbished Donald Trump's claims about racial discrimination.
- Donald Trump deleted a tweet claiming that South Africa was a dangerous place.
- The US State Department has explained why it is unhappy with South Africa at the moment.
- The US President offered citizenship to farmers and their families if they don’t feel safe in South Africa.
- Elon Musk claimed on X that the media weren’t reporting on the genocide in South Africa.
- Trump claimed that South Africa had a policy of exterminating people, which is why he would not attend the G20.
Trump doubles down on white genocide in South Africa claims
Briefly News also reported that Trump maintained that there’s a white genocide taking place in South Africa, insisting that it needs to be stopped.
The President of the United States has previously falsely stated that a section of the population was being persecuted in the country.
He even offered South Africans refuge in the US if they felt that they were being persecuted in the country.
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Source: Briefly News
