The Trump administration announced an increase in refugee places for white South Africans, citing alleged racial persecution. However, the South African government and analysts say that the facts are distorted, as Black farmers and farmworkers are also killed and injured in violent robberies.
FILE – Farmers visit the Nampo agricultural fair, one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, near Bothaville, South Africa , May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)It’s not clear what incitement Trump was referring to when his administration made the announcement Tuesday of 10,000 additional places for white South Africa ns in the refugee program this year to raise it to 17,500.
FILE – President Donald Trump greets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, center, at the White House, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File) Here’s a look at what Trump says is happening to white people in South Africa to justify their resettlement and why his position that they are being persecuted isas evidence of racial persecution.
The South African government and analysts say that’s a distortion of the facts, because Black farmers and farmworkers are also killed and injured in what are largely violent robberies and not racial attacks. There were more than 23,000 homicides across South Africa from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, according to official annual crime statistics, affecting all races but mostly the poor Black majority.
In comparison, there were 29 homicides on farms in 2025, according to the Afrikaner lobby group, AfriForum. Farm killings represent about 0.1% of homicides.
The Trump administration said that a recent increase in incitement to racial violence by the South African government and other politicians led to “an unforeseen emergency refugee situation” and “grave humanitarian concerns” It wasn’t clear what he was referring to, because there has been no public incitement to violence by the South African government, which is made up of a coalition of 10 political parties — some of whichAfrikaners are part of South Africa’s white minority, which also includes white people with British and other heritage. There are around 4.5 million white people in South Africa’s population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black, but also has other minorities with Indian and multiracial heritage.
Allegations of an “emergency refugee situation” for Afrikaners aren’t reflected in everyday life in South Africa, where Afrikaners are prominent politicians, business leaders Their language, Afrikaans, is widely spoken and taught in schools as one of the country’s 11 official languages, and Afrikaner monuments and churches stand and are maintained as part of the country’s multicultural makeup. The South African government hasn’t condemned the chant, saying it has a historical place connected to the fight against apartheid and shouldn’t be taken literally.
Some Afrikaner groups like AfriForum have criticized the government for that stance and called for the chant to be outlawed. South Africa’s affirmative action laws have also been cited by the Trump administration as evidence of anti-white policies. The laws are aimed at advancing opportunities for Black people and others who were oppressed under white minority rule.
They also are meant to help women and people with disabilities, though, who has said he was prevented from getting a license for his Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa because he’s white. The government says that’s a distortion. Starlink can operate in South Africa, though it needs to follow affirmative action regulations in that sector that require previously disadvantaged groups to have a minority stake in any local entities.
The South African government says more than 600 American companies currently operate in South Africa and follow affirmative action regulations. The South African government has previously said that Afrikaners are free to leave for the U.S., just as other South Africans have emigrated in search of opportunities in other countries.
However, the government says they shouldn’t be classified as refugees fleeing persecution.
"The assertion that white Afrikaners, in particular, endure systemic persecution is entirely without foundation," South African foreign ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday. Around 6,000 South Africans have moved to the U.S. since the Afrikaner program started last year, according to the U.S. governmen
South Africa Trump Administration Refugee Program Racial Persecution Farm Killings Violent Robberies Afrikaners Starlink Affirmative Action Laws
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