Trump administration to admit primarily Afrikaners under new refugee proposal

The Trump administration ‌plans to set a refugee admissions ceiling of 17,500 over the next 12 months consisting “primarily” of South Africans from the country’s white Afrikaner ethnic minority, according to ​a notice sent to Congress on Tuesday. U. S. President Donald Trump has claimed ​Afrikaners face persecution based on their race in the Black-majority ⁠country, allegations the South African government has denied. Trump paused all US refugee ​admissions when he took office in January 2025, saying they would only ​be restarted if it was in the country’s best interests.

Weeks later, he launched an effort to bring in Afrikaners, sparking criticism from refugee advocates who decried ​the exclusion of people of other nationalities fleeing persecution and violence. The ​notice sent by the State Department to congressional officials said it “anticipates that Afrikaners from ‌South ⁠Africa will fully assimilate into the United States in a manner that preserves taxpayer resources for US citizens. ” Resettlement under the proposed ceiling is expected to cost approximately $500 million, the notice said. All but three of the nearly ​3,000 people admitted ​as refugees in ⁠the…