US to admit white South African refugees amid broader resettlement freeze

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will admit more than two dozen white South Africans as refugees next week, despite the ongoing suspension of most U.S. refugee resettlement programs, officials and documents confirmed Friday.

According to a document obtained by The Associated Press, the first group of Afrikaner refugees is scheduled to arrive Monday at Dulles International Airport near Washington, where they will be received by a U.S. government delegation including Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and officials from the Department of Health and Human Services.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said the flight is part of a broader relocation effort following President Donald Trump’s February executive order prioritizing white South Africans who claim racial persecution.

The administration has accused South Africa’s Black-led government of enacting discriminatory policies against its white minority — allegations the South African government rejects.

“What’s happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created,” Miller said. “This is persecution based on a protected characteristic — in this case, race.”

While refugee admissions from Afghanistan, Iraq, and many sub-Saharan African countries remain paused amid legal challenges, the administration has expedited processing for white South African applicants. The State Department confirmed it has been interviewing Afrikaners at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria.

The arriving group includes roughly four families who had initially been scheduled to travel earlier this month. The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement is reportedly providing housing, supplies, and financial assistance as part of their integration support.

Critics questioned the selective resettlement. “We are concerned that the U.S. Government has chosen to fast-track the admission of Afrikaners while fighting court orders to provide life-saving resettlement to other refugee populations,” said Rick Santos, president of Church World Service.

Shawn VanDiver, who leads #AfghanEvac, called the decision “hypocrisy,” saying, “Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces... meet every definition of a refugee. That should matter.”

Trump administration officials have accused South Africa of enabling violence against white farmers and supporting land expropriation policies. The South African government denies these claims and maintains that white citizens remain economically advantaged more than three decades after apartheid ended.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said Trump had been given “completely false” information. “There are no South African citizens that can be classified as refugees to any part of the world,” a presidential statement said Friday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alvin Botes conveyed South Africa’s concerns to Landau ahead of the refugee arrivals. The Foreign Ministry described the relocation as “politically motivated” and said it undermined South Africa’s democratic institutions. However, it acknowledged the individuals' right to emigrate and expressed readiness for dialogue with Washington.

The U.S. has also curtailed diplomatic ties with South Africa under the Trump administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio boycotted a G20 meeting in Johannesburg in March, later expelling South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S. over remarks deemed critical of the White House.

The group’s arrival marks a rare exception to a largely frozen U.S. refugee admissions program and is expected to trigger further debate over the administration’s selective immigration policies. — Agencies