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Nearly 5,000 South Africans, almost all white Afrikaners, have been resettled in the United States under a refugee programme launched by President Donald Trump, according to US government data reviewed by multiple news outlets. The arrivals mark a significant shift in US refugee policy, which has otherwise been drastically curtailed under the Trump administration.

Coverage Comparison

The figures come from a document from the US Department of State's Bureau of Population, as reported by AFP and cited by Africanews. BBC News, citing the Refugee Processing Center, similarly reported that 4,499 refugees were resettled in the US between October 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, with all but three from Afghanistan being South African.

According to the data, the resettled individuals were placed across 48 US states. February and March saw the highest numbers of arrivals, with more than 1,300 people resettled in each of those months, as reported by Africanews.

Key Claims

  • Refugee numbers: The document shows that 4,499 people were resettled between October 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026. All were South African except for three Afghans.
  • Previous year admissions: An additional 340 South Africans were admitted in the previous financial year, after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
  • US refugee admissions overall: In the last full fiscal year of the Biden administration, 125,000 people were accepted from 85 countries. The Trump administration has since announced it would slash refugee admissions to 7,500 in fiscal year 2026, down from more than 100,000 per year under Biden.
  • Programme specifics: The Trump administration made an exception for South Africa's white Afrikaans community, descendants of the first European settlers, allowing them to seek resettlement in the US. The administration claimed Afrikaners were victims of racial discrimination and even "genocide," a characterisation the South African government strongly denies.
  • Diplomatic tensions: Relations between Washington and Pretoria have been strained since Trump returned to office. South Africa's ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled after accusing Trump of "mobilising a supremacism."

Perspectives

The programme has sharply divided opinion. The Trump administration has framed the resettlement as a humanitarian response to alleged persecution of white Afrikaners, a claim the South African government has rejected as unfounded. In May, during an Oval Office meeting, Trump told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that white farmers in South Africa were targets of persecution and "genocide." Ramaphosa disputed these assertions, and was supported by John Steenhuisen, the white leader of the Democratic Alliance, part of the coalition government, who told Trump that most commercial and smallholder farmers want to stay in South Africa.

Africanews reports that the programme is based on "unfounded claims" of persecution, and frames it within the broader context of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. BBC's reporting highlights the dramatic shift in the number and nationalities of refugees admitted, noting that the exception for Afrikaners came even as all other refugee admissions, including from warzones, were halted.

The resettlement data itself is not in dispute, but interpretations of its significance vary. Some see it as evidence of US willingness to intervene on behalf of a minority group, while others view it as a politically motivated move that has inflamed diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The South African government has objected to Trump's characterisation of Afrikaners as persecuted, and the broader relationship between the two nations remains fraught.

As the programme continues, its effects on both the Afrikaner community in South Africa and the broader US-South Africa relationship will likely remain under scrutiny.