On Monday, May 12th, 49 white South Africans arrived in the United States after being granted refugee status under a Trump administration program. The group, composed of families including children, landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on a U.S.-funded private airplane.
The Trump administration expedited its applications based on claims of racial discrimination and persecution in South Africa. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February accusing the South African government of targeting white farmers through land reform and affirmative action policies. He further claimed that a genocide was taking place, specifically against white farmers, arguing that the conditions amounted to race-based persecution, warranting refugee protections.
The U.S. State Department officials and the Department of Homeland Security welcomed the arrivals. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau addressed the group at the airport, acknowledging their challenges and expressing hope that they would thrive in their new environment.
The program has prompted backlash from refugee advocacy organizations and South African officials, who assert that the accusations used to justify the relocation are entirely unfounded. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa unequivocally stated, “those who have fled are not being persecuted, they are not being hounded, they are not being treated badly.” He emphasized that claims of systemic targeting against white South Africans are “not true.”
Ramaphosa attributed their departure to resistance to post-apartheid reforms. “They are leaving ostensibly because they don’t want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country in accordance with our constitution,” he explained.
South Africa emphasized that Afrikaners are among the most economically privileged citizens and that there is no evidence of systematic racial persecution or land confiscation. While a new expropriation law has passed, the government states that no land has been taken without compensation.
The United Nations refugee agency confirmed it was not involved in the vetting process, a departure from standard procedure. Rights groups have criticized the program, particularly in light of the administration’s simultaneous suspension of most other refugee admissions, including from conflict zones.
Jeremy Konyndyk of Refugees International called the program “a racialized immigration policy masquerading as refugee resettlement,” emphasizing that the individuals did not meet traditional refugee criteria.
