The Trump administration has told Congress that the United States plans to admit 17,500 mostly white South African refugees in 2027, as the government continues to reshape the country’s refugee resettlement programme.
According to a notice sent to Congress, the administration said the white South Africans, largely Afrikaners, face land seizures and other forms of persecution in South Africa.
It also said they would be likely to assimilate into American society after their arrival.
The South African government, however, has repeatedly rejected claims that white South Africans are a persecuted minority in the country.
The administration’s latest decision marks a major shift in the long-standing US refugee programme, which has traditionally provided resettlement opportunities to people fleeing war, violence and persecution from various parts of the world.
The government said it expects to spend about $500m on resettling the new arrivals in the United States.
Organisations that have traditionally helped refugees settle in the country criticised the decision to once again focus the programme on white South Africans.
“For more than four decades, America’s refugee program has provided a lifesaving pathway for people fleeing violence and persecution,” said Naomi Steinberg, HIAS vice president for refugee and immigration policy and advocacy, in a statement.
“But again, this administration is diminishing and distorting this legacy in service of its political whims. That is why we will never stop speaking out for a return to a program that welcomes refugees from around the world who have been persecuted because of who they are and what they believe.”
