US government plans to accept up to 17,500 white South Africans as refugees

The US government plans to accept up to 17,500 predominantly white South Africans as refugees next year. This emerges from a communication to Congress. The government cited alleged land confiscation and other forms of persecution as justification. Around $500 million is to be made available for the settlement of the new arrivals.

The South African government rejects the idea that white South Africans, predominantly members of the Afrikaner minority, are being persecuted in their country. Afrikaners are descendants of Dutch and French settlers who came to the country in the 17th century.

The program was introduced in 1980 and has so far taken in refugees from different parts of the world. Under Democratic President Joe Biden, the aim was recently to admit up to 125,000 refugees. Organizations that support refugees in resettling criticized the renewed restriction to white South Africans.

For more than 40 years, the program has offered refugees a life-saving path to safety, said Naomi Steinberg, vice president of the refugee organization HIAS. "But once again this administration is diminishing and distorting that legacy to serve its political whims. That's why we will never stop advocating for a return to a program that welcomes refugees from around the world who have been persecuted because of their identity and beliefs."