The Trump administration has launched one of the most dramatic shifts in US refugee policy in decades — prioritizing thousands of White South Africans, known as Afrikaners, for admission while slashing the overall refugee ceiling to as few as 7,500. According to documents reviewed by The Washington Post, nearly all the slots under the new quota could be reserved for this group, marking a fundamental change in how America defines who qualifies as a refugee.
A new definition of vulnerability
Traditionally, the US refugee program has focused on victims of war, persecution, or statelessness — including those fleeing Syria, Afghanistan, and Congo. The Trump administration’s latest policy reframes that definition to include people claiming “discrimination” on ideological or racial grounds, even in stable democracies. Afrikaners, who make up a small minority in South Africa, have been described by Trump as “a persecuted people,” though South African officials and rights groups reject that view as misleading.
Fast-tracking Afrikaners, freezing others
The State Department has reportedly been processing Afrikaner applications at record speed — sometimes in as little as a week — while refugee admissions from other regions have slowed or stopped entirely. Officials set targets of 2,000 admissions by October and another 4,000 by November 2025. At the same time, refugees from war-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East have been left in limbo due to the administration’s drastic cap reduction and the ongoing government shutdown, which has suspended admissions until Congress passes a new budget.
Bypassing the UN refugee system
In another break from decades of precedent, the administration is largely cutting out the United Nations refugee agency, which traditionally screens and refers candidates to the US Instead, the selection process for South Africa is being coordinated in part by a private advocacy group, Amerikaners, founded by Sam Busà, a British-descended South African expatriate. The group’s role, critics say, injects ideology into a process meant to be apolitical.
Resistance from within the system
Even among those targeted for resettlement, enthusiasm appears mixed. State Department data shows that many of the Afrikaners approved for relocation have delayed or declined to travel, citing property sales or second thoughts about moving. On one flight with 50 reserved seats, only three people boarded. The department insists this is “not abnormal,” arguing that the streamlined process still “upholds the highest standards.”
Criticism of racial and political bias
Former US officials warn the policy risks politicizing refugee admissions and undermining America’s moral leadership. “It looks like an effort to turn refugee policy into an ideological statement about reverse racism,” said Anne C. Richard, who oversaw refugee programs under the Obama administration. South Africa’s government has called Trump’s persecution narrative “unfounded and racially divisive.”
Life in the US for new arrivals
The few hundred Afrikaners who have arrived so far have mostly settled in rural or midwestern states. Some have expressed gratitude for their new lives; others, like South African farmer Charl Kleinhaus, have voiced frustration about higher living costs and fewer domestic conveniences than back home.
A symbolic and political move
By focusing almost entirely on White South Africans, Trump’s refugee policy underscores his administration’s broader shift — from global humanitarian priorities toward what it calls “refugees in America’s national interest.” Critics see it as an attempt to favour Christian, English-speaking applicants while dismantling one of the last remaining bipartisan institutions in US immigration policy.
Whether the administration meets its goal of 7,000 Afrikaner admissions remains unclear. But its message is unmistakable: America’s door is narrowing — and opening for only a select few.
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