Nearly 5,000 white Afrikaners have been resettled in the United States under a programme introduced by President Donald Trump, according to a document reviewed on Wednesday.
The initiative, launched nearly a year ago, is based on claims that the minority group faces persecution in South Africa; allegations that the South African government has strongly rejected.
Data from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population indicates that 4,499 individuals were resettled across 48 states between October 1 last year and March 31 this year. All but three of those admitted were South African nationals, with the remainder being Afghan citizens.
An additional 340 South Africans were admitted during the previous financial year following Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025. The highest number of arrivals was recorded in February and March this year, with more than 1,300 people resettled in each month.
The programme specifically targets the white Afrikaner community descendants of early European settlers offering them refugee status based on claims of racial discrimination and even “genocide”. The first group of approximately 50 individuals arrived in the US on a chartered flight on May 12 last year, with subsequent arrivals travelling on commercial flights.
Despite a broader crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has made an exception for this group. In October, Washington announced plans to reduce overall refugee admissions to 7,500 for the 2026 fiscal year, down from over 100,000 annually under former President Joe Biden, while prioritising applications from white South Africans.
The policy has further strained relations between Pretoria and Washington, which are already at odds on several issues. Tensions escalated in December when South African authorities raided a facility set up to fast-track applications for resettlement to the US.
US officials have repeatedly cited farm attacks and employment equity laws as evidence of alleged persecution of Afrikaners since the end of apartheid in 1994. However, the South African government maintains that these claims are unfounded.
Pretoria argues that the country’s high crime rate disproportionately affects black South Africans and that policies promoting black economic empowerment are aimed at addressing deep-rooted inequalities inherited from apartheid.