By Evaristo Lara
The differences between the governments of the United States and South Africa continue to widen due to the alleged discrimination problems registered in the African nation towards the white population, which could open the door to the country governed by Donald Trump to 10,000 Afrikanersan ethnic group formed by descendants of European settlers, mostly from the Netherlands, who first settled in Africa in the 17th century
From the perspective of the 79-year-old Republican, thousands of white-skinned people are practically the object of intimidation and even violent actions for having a different skin color in a territory where the majority of the population is black.
In June last year, President Trump ordered administration officials to prioritize resettling South Africans of European descent through the United States refugee program, which he had suspended during his first day in the White House.
The Republican president accused the South African government of discriminating against Afrikaners and, through an executive order, announced that he would no longer provide aid to that nation.
Months later, he even set tariffs for South American exports, despite the arguments presented by Cyril Ramaphosa, South African president, denying that his government was “confiscating land” from white people.
Now, the US government plans to admit up to 10,000 more white South Africans into its territory.
In fact, The State Department sent an emergency notification to Congress with the aim of expanding to 17,500 the maximum number of refugees it will receive this fiscal year, of which more than half would be South Africans fleeing discrimination for being white.
The estimate of the US authorities is that admitting the entry of these people would imply a cost close to $100 million in public funds.
According to information released by the State Department, between October 2025 and as of last month, the Trump administration had resettled 6,069 refugees, of which 6,066 came from South Africa and the remainder from Afghanistan.
In contrast, the Immigration and Customs Defense Service has increased its operations to detain immigrants lacking suitable status with the aim of sending them back to their nations of origin.
Keep reading:
• Trump sanctions South Africa and orders to prioritize resettlement of South African refugees of European descent
• Ramaphosa rejects Trump’s veto of South Africa at the 2026 G20 summit in the US.
• Trump’s “ambush” in the White House of President Ramaphosa for the alleged “target persecution” in South Africa
