President Donald Trump continues to push the false claim that white South Africans are being persecuted by their country’s majority-Black government. Continuing to press debunked white “genocide” claims promoted by far-right figures, the Trump administration is seeking to admit even more white South African “refugees” into the United States, even as other refugees are blocked by Trump’s restrictive policies.
Trump administration wants to privilege more white South African ‘refugees’
CBS News reported that the U.S. State Department is requesting Congress approve a plan to more than double the number of white South Africans admitted to the United States as refugees.
The proposal would more than double the total number of refugees admitted into the U.S., from 7,500 to 17,500. The additional 10,000 refugee spots would be given to Afrikaners, descendants of mostly Dutch settlers who dominated South Africa during the apartheid era and continue to own much of the country’s valuable farmland.
The State Department claims the new Afrikaner refugee plan, which would cost $100 million, is a necessary response to an “emergency refugee situation.”
The Trump administration is pointing to a December raid of a U.S. refugee processing center in South Africa as evidence of “escalating hostility” against Afrikaners, while the South African government says the raid targeted Kenyans working in the center illegally.
Continuing to push debunked white ‘genocide’ claims
During both of his presidencies, Trump has boosted claims of “genocide” against white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners.
Far-right figures such as Tucker Carlson and South African-born billionaire Elon Musk have falsely claimed that South Africa’s current Black-led government is oppressing and targeting Afrikaners. This has led to a rift with the South African government, which has repeatedly denied the accusations made against it.
Journalist Anderson Cooper visited South Africa and spoke with white farmers in the country for a recent 60 Minutes story that debunked many of the “genocide” claims.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration has continued to admit Afrikaners as refugees while cutting off foreign aid to the country for HIV/AIDS programs.
Racist immigration policies
Trump has allowed thousands of Afrikaners to enter the United States as refugees despite suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program on his first day back in office, effectively closing the door to refugees from most other countries.
Trump’s admission of white South Africans while barring other, more vulnerable refugees is part of a larger immigration policy critics describe as racially biased.
Trump has banned or restricted citizens from dozens of countries from even visiting the U.S., with many of those nations being majority-Black and/or Muslim countries.
Trump has also implemented a harsh crackdown on unauthorized immigration, targeting Hispanic populations as well as Black communities such as Somalis and Haitians.
Additionally, Trump canceled Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, a move now being challenged in Congress and federal court. He has also repeatedly referred to Haiti and African nations as “s***hole countries” while expressing a preference for immigrants from European nations.
Trump’s continued push to paint white South Africans as refugees deserving special treatment is thus part of a broader immigration platform critics say favors white immigrants while restricting others.
While people fleeing persecution around the world are being blocked from entering the U.S., white South African farmers continue to receive preferential treatment from the Trump administration as it advances a narrative that white people are the true victims of racism.