First Group of White South Africans Arrive in US Under Trump Admin’s Refugee Plan

South Africa has denounced Washington’s move to resettle Afrikaners as refugees as ‘entirely politically motivated.’

The first group of Afrikaners from South Africa to arrive for resettlement listen to remarks from Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau (R) and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar (not in frame), after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., on May 12, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Dozens of white South Africans arrived in the United States on May 12 after being granted refugee status under the Trump administration’s new admission program.

About 49 Afrikaners—a white ethnic minority in South Africa—boarded a chartered flight bound for the District of Columbia, which will then fly to Texas, South African Transport Department spokesperson Collen Msibi said.