The US government has welcomed 59 white South Africans as refugees, sparking controversy and criticism from Democrats. These individuals, mostly Afrikaners, arrived at Dulles Airport near Washington D.C. on Monday. Some carried small children and waved American flags as they were greeted with red, white, and blue balloons.
Former President Donald Trump said their asylum requests were fast-tracked because they faced “racial discrimination.” However, the South African government disputes this, stating these individuals weren’t persecuted in a way that warranted refugee status. Human Rights Watch criticized the Trump administration’s actions, calling them “cruelly racially discriminatory.” The organization noted that thousands of people, many of whom are black refugees and Afghans, were denied asylum in the US.
Trump said there was a “genocide” in South Africa, targeting “white farmers.” However, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa disagreed. He told Trump during a phone call that the US assessment was “not true.” Ramaphosa explained that refugees are those who leave their country due to fear of political, religious, or economic persecution, and the Afrikaners didn’t fit that criteria.
Tensions between the US and South Africa have risen since Trump directed his administration to relocate Afrikaners to the US. The South African ambassador to the US, Lindiwe Radebe, was recalled after criticizing Trump’s use of “white victimhood as a dog whistle.” The US then accused Radebe of being “racist.”
The controversy comes as South Africa grapples with land reform. In January, Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the government to seize private land without compensation in certain situations. Although no land has been seized under this law, it has sparked debate. Black South Africans, who make up over 90% of the population, own just 4% of private land, according to a 2017 report.
Criticism and Concerns
Democrats and human rights organizations have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of refugee resettlement. Gregory Meeks, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the resettlement “not just racist, but also a rewriting of history for political gain.” Melissa Kinney, a lawyer with the International Refugee Assistance Project, described the decision to fast-track Afrikaner arrivals as “hypocrisy and grossly unequal treatment.” Her organization has sued the Trump administration over its suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Program.
Some South Africans have expressed frustration over the slow pace of land reform since the end of apartheid. Elon Musk, a South African-born tech mogul and Trump adviser, previously claimed there was a “white genocide” in South Africa and accused the government of passing “racist land ownership laws.” However, many farmers in South Africa are white, while farmworkers are often black.
Statistics from the South African Police Service show 44 murders were reported on farms and smallholdings in 2024, with eight victims being farm owners. However, the country doesn’t release crime statistics broken down by race.