WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to receive the first group of white South African refugees in the United States as early as next week, in a move that has sparked political controversy and renewed debate over U.S. immigration policy. According to three individuals familiar with the plan, the arrivals would mark the beginning of a contentious resettlement program first promoted under President Donald Trump.
Roughly 50 Afrikaners — white South Africans primarily descended from Dutch settlers — are expected to fly into Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, where they would participate in a press conference before continuing to their final destinations across the country, two sources told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the internal planning. However, officials cautioned that logistical hurdles remain, and their arrival has already been delayed at least once. As of Thursday, a charter flight arranged to transport the group had yet to obtain a U.S. landing permit.
The U.S. State Department, which oversees refugee resettlement efforts, declined to comment on the pending arrivals. The initiative was first reported by NPR.
The policy dates back to Trump’s administration, which imposed a sweeping freeze on refugee admissions shortly after he took office in 2017. Despite the broader restrictions, Trump called in February 2025 for the United States to prioritize Afrikaner refugees, describing them as victims of “unjust racial discrimination” in post-apartheid South Africa — a claim long embraced by far-right groups and echoed by South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk.
While white South Africans continue to hold a significant economic advantage — the average white household reportedly owns 20 times more wealth than the average Black household, according to the Review of Political Economy — Afrikaner asylum seekers have cited land disputes, rising crime, and racial tension as grounds for refugee status. In interviews with U.S. immigration officers, applicants have painted a picture of a deteriorating security climate for white farmers and landowners.
South Africa’s government has condemned the resettlement effort, accusing Washington of undermining the country’s democratic and post-apartheid institutions. “It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement Friday.
Stephen Miller, a former Trump advisor and a key architect of the administration’s immigration crackdown, defended the program, saying it meets the “textbook definition” of race-based persecution under international asylum standards.
The Afrikaners scheduled to arrive are expected to disperse to several U.S. states, with Minnesota — a traditionally Democratic state known for its refugee programs — emerging as a leading destination, sources said. Others are reportedly planning to resettle in conservative states such as Idaho and Alabama. The use of a charter flight, whose costs far exceed commercial travel, remains unexplained but has added to the political scrutiny surrounding the case.
The planned arrival comes amid broader debates in Washington over the future of U.S. refugee policy, as the Biden administration continues to face pressure from both progressive and conservative lawmakers over immigration priorities.
