Trump admin says White South Africans will make up most refugees admitted in 2027: Report
WASHINGTON, DC: The Trump administration has told Congress it will take in 17,500 refugees next fiscal year, most of them White South Africans, according to a document reported on Tuesday by CNN. The administration has been moving toward prioritizing White South Africans, President Trump has said, over people who flee their countries because of war, religious persecution, or other dangers.
Refugee advocates argue that the administration’s focus on one group has excluded vulnerable populations worldwide. South African authorities have strongly denied claims of White genocide.
Refugee cap increased earlier this year
In its report to Congress, the State Department said admissions will “primarily be Afrikaners from South Africa,” arguing that they face discrimination in their home country.
“The United States anticipates that Afrikaners from South Africa will fully assimilate into the United States in a manner that preserves taxpayer resources for US citizens and does not anticipate other countries resettling Afrikaners,” the report states.
Resettlement under the proposed ceiling is expected to cost approximately $500 million, according to the report.
The administration increased the refugee cap for South Africans to 17,500 from an overall ceiling of 7,500 refugees of all nationalities last year, informing Congress of the change in an emergency determination.
It freed up the vast majority of the US refugee admissions capacity for one nationality while leaving the door closed to the rest of the world.
South African officials have heavily criticized the allegations that there are attempts to genocide all White South Africans, including the Afrikaners, in the country. The proponents of the idea have been accused of ignoring other refugees who depend on the US’s refugee program around the globe.
Program has drawn scrutiny
The refugee program, largely shuttered for the rest of the world, has sparked diplomatic spats, prompted a scramble to open a processing site in South Africa, generated highly unusual requests from applicants and produced high denial rates, due in part to criminal records among some applicants, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the program.
The first group of Afrikaner refugees came to the United States in May 2025, where they were welcomed at a hangar near Washington Dulles International Airport by then-Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar.
At the same time, despite the restrictions on the refugee program imposed by the Trump administration, the new administration continues to expand its possibilities.
According to the State Department’s latest report to Congress, there are no plans to increase the number of refugees from other sources or areas in the coming fiscal year.
