Trump administration to admit primarily Afrikaners under new refugee proposal

Jerusalem Post/US PoliticsUS President Donald Trump has claimed Afrikaners face persecution based on their race in the Black-majority country, allegations the South African government has denied.Follow us on GoogleFILE PHOTO: First group of White South Africans under U.S. Under Trump's Refugee plan, arrives in Dulles Wednesday, 23rd September 2026(photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST/FILE PHOTO)SEPTEMBER 23, 2026 02:15US President Donald Trump's administration plans to set a refugee admissions ceiling of 17,500 over the next 12 months, consisting "primarily" of South Africans from the country's white Afrikaner ethnic minority, according to a notice sent to Congress on Tuesday.US President Donald Trump has claimed Afrikaners face persecution based on their race in the Black-majority country, allegations the South African government has denied.Trump paused all US refugee admissions when he took office in January 2025, saying they would restart only if it was in the country's best interests. Weeks later, he launched an effort to bring in Afrikaners, sparking criticism from refugee advocates who decried the exclusion of people of other nationalities fleeing persecution and violence.The notice sent by the State Department to congressional officials said it "anticipates that Afrikaners from South Africa will fully assimilate into the United States in a manner that preserves taxpayer resources for US citizens."Resettlement under the proposed ceiling is expected to cost approximately $500 million, the notice said.Marco Rubio visits Colombia Wednesday, 9th September 2026 (credit: Fernando Vergara/Pool via REUTERS)Nearly everyone admitted as refugees was South African in 2026All but three of the nearly 3,000 people admitted as refugees in the current fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, were South Africans, according to State Department data through August.In fiscal year 2024, by contrast, the Biden administration brought in more than 100,000 refugees from dozens of countries.“A refugee program that centers one group and sidelines all others is an abdication of our global humanitarian leadership and an abandonment of thousands of vulnerable families,” Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, said in a statement.Follow us on Google