Vast majority of US refugee admissions will go to white South Africans: Report

Trump administration reportedly plans to allocate 30,000 of the expected 40,000 refugee admissions to South Africa's white minority

Part of a group of dozens of white South Africans who wait to hear welcome statements from US government officials at Atlantic Aviation Dulles near Washington Dulles International Airport on 12 May (CHIP SOMODEVILLA/AFP)

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US President Donald Trump's administration is considering allocating three-quarters of a significantly reduced refugee admission cap to white South Africans, Reuters reported on Monday.

According to meeting notes reviewed by Reuters, the acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the Department of Health and Human Services, Angie Salazar, told people working in the refugee resettlement space that she expected the refugee admissions cap to be set at 40,000 for the coming fiscal year.

Two other sources, who wished to remain anonymous, told Reuters that 30,000 of these spaces are expected to be allocated to Afrikaners, white South Africans who are descendants of largely Dutch people who colonised South Africa.

The cap is much lower than the one the Biden administration set at 125,000 from fiscal years 2022 to 2025.

Over those fiscal years, the number of refugees admitted was 25,465 (2022), 60,014 (2023), 100,034 (2024) and 27,308 (2025), respectively, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

The resettlement priorities also mark a different strategy for the US government. Previous administrations focused on resettling people with humanitarian concerns, such as those impacted by war, or who were facing persecution.

It also welcomed people from around the world regardless of their ethnic background, religion or sexuality.

In comparison, the Trump administration is focusing largely on a group from one part of the world who Trump claims are facing a "white genocide", something that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and a delegation of white South Africans, who visited Trump in the Oval Office, have denied as baseless.

Other groups that could be prioritised would be Afghans who helped US forces, and possibly Ukrainians, who have previously been resettled in the US.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Reuters that "no decisions were final" until a decision is made in October, praising President Trump for his "humanitarian heart".

The news overlaps with a suspension of all visitor visas for Palestinians in Gaza, who are currently facing what is widely considered a genocide. The suspension will impact people in urgent need of medical evacuation.

'Selective' resettlement

In May, almost 60 white South Africans were granted refugee status in the US and were resettled later the same month.

This was in spite of Trump suspending the country's refugee resettlement programme after returning to office, leaving 12,000 vulnerable people in limbo who had been conditionally approved for resettlement and had flights booked before 20 January, as well as almost 90,000 others who had been approved for resettlement.

US grants dozens of white South Africans refugee status

While US vetting processes for refugees normally take 18 to 24 months, according to the State Department's website, the Afrikaners' cases were expedited.

Currently, multiple legal cases have been filed against the Trump administration to enable those who were approved for resettlement to be allowed into the US, including a class action lawsuit filed by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP).

IRAP's Senior Policy Director Rricha deCant told Middle East Eye in a statement that, from his first day in office, Trump suspended resettlement for thousands of approved refugees who were vetted and scheduled for travel.

"Despite multiple court orders, the government has fought tooth and nail to keep these refugees out of the United States, while selectively welcoming white South Africans.

"We will continue to fight in court for the right of all refugees to safely resettle in the US, and we hope to see a Presidential Determination that recognises many groups of humanitarian concern that should be urgently resettled - including refugees from Afghanistan, Sudan, Venezuela and unaccompanied children of all nationalities."

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Vast majority of US refugee admissions will go to white South Africans: Report

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