by Jeroslyn JoVonn
April 8, 2026
New information highlights how the Trump administration is prioritizing white South African refugees coming into the U.S.
New information exhibits that just about all the 4,499 refugees admitted to the USA in 2026 thus far, besides for 3, have come from South Africa.
State Division information launched April 6 exhibits that refugee arrivals from South Africa have already exceeded half of the 7,500-person cap, aligning with President Donald Trump’s pledge to prioritize Afrikaners—white South Africans—whereas preserving total admissions at a document low, The Christian Science Monitor stories.
Greater than 500 South African refugees have been resettled in Texas, with Florida and California receiving the subsequent largest numbers. The one non-South African arrivals got here in November, when three refugees from Afghanistan had been resettled in Colorado.
Though greater than 80% of South Africa’s inhabitants is Black, the Trump administration has centered on white Afrikaners, citing claims of “white genocide” and pledging to prioritize them as victims of discrimination. Whereas farm assaults do happen in South Africa, consultants say they don’t quantity to racially pushed genocide, nor do land reform efforts equate to widespread land confiscation.
In February, the Trump administration introduced plans to course of as much as 4,500 refugee functions per 30 days from white South Africans—far exceeding this system’s said cap—and is putting in trailers on the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria to assist the trouble.
The goal, outlined in a beforehand unreported State Division doc dated Jan. 27, alerts a serious push to extend admissions from South Africa whereas sharply limiting refugee functions from different areas. Against this, greater than 100,000 refugees had been admitted through the ultimate full yr of the Biden administration, a three-decade excessive. The present shift to prioritize a single ethnic group marks a pointy departure from the bipartisan refugee program established in 1980.
Upon returning to workplace, Trump moved shortly to dismantle prior immigration insurance policies, suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program on his first day, citing safety and assimilation issues. Historically, refugees fleeing identity-based persecution underwent years of vetting, typically ready in camps earlier than being permitted to enter the U.S.
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