US Expands Refugee Program for White South Africans Amid Diplomatic Tensions

The US government cited an "unforeseen emergency" in South Africa as the reason the refugee program would be expanded. However, only white minority South Africans — who are allegedly being persecuted on racial grounds in their country — would be granted refugee status. TheTrump administration has repeatedly claimed that there is an ongoing genocide against white Afrikaners , allegations the South African government strongly denies.

Experts also say there is no statistical evidence of increased crime targeting white farmers.

For Oscar van Heerden, a research fellow at the Center for African Diplomacy and Leadership at the University of Johannesburg, this is based on a distorted understanding intended to "undermine South Africa's moral authority on the international stage — by equating South Africa with the State of Israel."

Since the start of the war in Gaza, South Africa has been among Israel's harshest critics. In late 2023, Pretoria filed a lawsuit with theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague against the Israeli government over allegations of genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza.

The case stems from Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and others, and other militant Islamist groups. Israel denies the allegations of genocide and invokes its right to self-defense. It could take years before a final decision is reached.

Trump's idea of South Africa

Essentially, according to van Heerden, US President Donald Trump is saying: How can a country like South Africa bring Israel before the ICJ for alleged genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip when the South Africans themselves are committing genocide against white South Africans?

"He has this twisted notion in his head that he will convince the world that, after the Mandela years, we [South Africa] no longer have any moral authority in the world," he told DW.

Through an emergency order in 2025, Trump made it possible for members of white minority groups from South Africa to enter and resettle in the US. The US State Department's decision now calls for raising the annual cap on refugee admissionsfor the 2026 fiscal year from 7,500 to 17,500. The additional 10,000 spots are reserved exclusively for white South Africans. The State Department estimates that the expanded program would cost around $100 million (€87 million).

"This is a clear indication of an attempt to politicize protection," Gustavo De Carvalho, an expert on African governance and diplomacy at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), told DW.

"The narrative that white South Africans are being persecuted in South Africa has resonated strongly even within the far-right movement in the United States," De Carvalho added.

"We have a crime problem in South Africa that is caused by the country's vast social inequality and poverty," van Heerden said, stressing that all segments of the population had been affected.

US-South Africa ties under strain

According to De Carvalho, South Africa's case against Israel before the International Court of Justice and the country's alleged closeness to countries like Russia and Iran, has caused great confusion and uncertainty in its relationship with the US.

Diplomatic tensionsbetween the two countries are running high. The US government's allegations of genocide against the white minority population are just one piece of the puzzle.

Trump's administration has also cut aid to South Africa, boycotted last year's G20 summit in Johannesburg, and excluded South Africa from this year's G20 conference, which will take place at one of Trump's resorts in Miami in December 2026.

South Africa's position among theBRICS nations also plays a role in Trump's foreign policy.

"BRICS members are talking about decoupling from the dollar and trading in local currencies instead of the US dollar," van Heerden said. "They have established a new development bank to compete with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. They are also moving toward multilateralism and away from a unipolar world dominated by the US."

He added that the US cannot engage in a direct confrontation with China, Russia or India; the major BRICS partners. That is why, van Heerden says, it is targeting smaller partners like South Africa to impose punitive measures.

White South African refugees welcome, others not so much

While white South Africans are welcomed in the US, Washington is suspending its resettlement program for people fleeing war and persecution in countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.

According to De Carvalho, this policy "seriously violates a number of principles surrounding the concept of refugee protection" when ethnic criteria are the deciding factor rather than the risk to which people are exposed.

"The US refugee policy is certainly not immigration policy," De Carvalho noted, adding that it was an attempt to gain influence.

In the fiscal year 2024, which began under then-President Joe Biden, the US admitted more than 100,000 refugees, about one-third of whom were from Africa, including many Congolese refugees.

Trump's refugee policy looks different. Out of the roughly 6,700 refugees the US admitted between October 2025 and May 2026, all but three came from South Africa.

"He doesn't care about Africa, nor does he care about refugees," said van Heerden.

The US is in a period of fiscal consolidation, and Donald Trump has to make cuts — which he does, to aid programs, charities and the civil service.

"They have to rein in costs because America spends too much money on others and not on its own citizens; after all, MAGA Make America Great Again (MAGA) is all about 'America First,'" said van Heerden.

De Carvalho, however, said it could backfire on the US: "This selective humanitarianism significantly undermines the US's ability to present itself as a global moral authority."