South Africa: Nearly 5,000 Afrikaners relocated to the United States through Donald Trumps program

In a document seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department revealed that President Donald Trump has welcomed nearly 5,000 Afrikaners to the United States since his decision to accept these descendants of European settlers in South Africa.

During a meeting in May 2025, Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, visited the White House where he was shown misleading or entirely false photos and videos by President Trump, depicting widespread persecution of white people.

With all other asylum requests suspended by Washington, the 4,499 individuals granted refugee status in the United States since the beginning of the fiscal year (starting October 1) are mostly South African, with a few exceptions noted in the State Department’s report up to March 31.

The number of South Africans admitted during the previous fiscal year under Trump’s presidency added up to 340, further emphasizing the significant influx of relocation to the United States.

The threshold of 5,000 Afrikaner immigrants is expected to be reached in April, with relocation numbers steadily increasing, such as over 1,300 in March and more than 1,500 in February. Travel arrangements have shifted from charter flights to commercial airlines.

Parallel to Elon Musk’s criticisms of Pretoria’s allegedly racist laws on social media, several members of the Trump administration have condemned positive discrimination programs aimed at addressing inequality stemming from colonization and apartheid.

Despite the white minority representing just over 7% of the population, they still possessed 72% of agricultural lands by 2017, according to government statistics.

The United States has set a limit of around 7,500 individuals to be granted refugee status this year, a stark contrast to the previous average of about 100,000 under former Democratic President Joe Biden.

In the White House document outlining this target, Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch and French Huguenot settlers who arrived at the southern tip of Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries, were explicitly given priority.