Trump admin. proposes admitting thousands more Afrikaners to U.S. as refugees

The Trump medication is doubling down connected efforts to resettle White Afrikaners from South Africa arsenic refugees successful the U.S., proposing to summation the government's exile headdress to invited thousands much of them, according to a State Department program sent to Congress and obtained by CBS News.  

The medication has efficaciously closed the U.S. exile programme for astir nationalities, but Afrikaners from South Africa, arguing they're the victims of radical oppression for being White. The South African authorities has denied persecuting the taste minority, composed of descendants of European settlers, mostly from the Netherlands.

Now, the State Department says there's an "emergency exile situation" that warrants much admissions of Afrikaners earlier the extremity of the fiscal year. The section told Congress it wants to summation the exile headdress from 7,500 to 17,500, and to connection the 10,000 further spots to Afrikaners. 

The admittance of 10,000 further Afrikaners would outgo astir $100 million, the State Department said successful its proposal.  

In that plan, the section argued that Afrikaners person faced "escalating hostility," including captious statements by politicians and a December raid by South African authorities connected a U.S. exile processing center. At the time, South African officials said they had arrested Kenyans who were moving astatine the halfway illegally, but the U.S. condemned the raid.

The U.S. resettled 6,069 refugees betwixt October 2025 and the extremity of past month, with officials utilizing astir of the 7,500 record-low spots allocated by President Trump past year. State Department figures amusement 6,066 — oregon 99% — of the refugees were from South Africa, portion the different 3 hailed from Afghanistan.

Mr. Trump has alleged that Afrikaners are facing a "genocide," and successful a tense Oval Office gathering past year, helium confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a video that spotlighted murders of farmers successful the country. 

Those claims are heavy disputed. Earlier this year, "60 Minutes" spoke with Afrikaners who rejected the notion that White radical are facing a "genocide," and presumption murders connected farms arsenic portion of a broader transgression occupation successful South Africa that harms members of each races. 

Mr. Trump has besides pointed to a arguable South African instrumentality that could let the authorities to seize onshore successful immoderate circumstances erstwhile it is deemed to beryllium successful the nationalist interest. The instrumentality does not notation the races of affected landowners, though White South Africans ain a disproportionate stock of the country's land, successful a vestige of the apartheid system. 

The State Department program shared with Congress connected Monday is simply a connection that would request to beryllium formally approved by the president earlier taking effect. But historically, the consultation with Congress, required by national law, has been a formality.

CBS News has reached retired to the State Department for comment.