White South Africans Begin Journey to U.S. Under New Refugee Status

On Sunday, a U.S.-funded charter flight took off from Johannesburg carrying dozens of white South Africans who claim to have faced discrimination and violence in their homeland. These individuals are being accepted into the United States under a newly established refugee status.

The departure of these white South Africans, who allege being denied employment and subjected to racially motivated attacks, represents a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump’s administration.

While the Trump administration has largely halted refugee admissions for those fleeing famine and conflict in countries such as Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it has simultaneously created an expedited refugee pathway for Afrikaners, the white ethnic minority historically associated with South Africa’s apartheid regime.

Typically, refugee processes take years to complete. However, only three months after the executive order establishing refugee status for Afrikaners was signed, the first group is already en route to the United States.

Families waiting to board at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday afternoon declined to comment, citing instructions from the U.S. embassy to avoid media interactions. Parents quietly pushed luggage carts while speaking softly amongst themselves.

One traveler briefly smiled when asked if he would miss rugby, a favored sport among Afrikaners, and biltong, a traditional dried meat snack. Meanwhile, police intermittently discouraged journalists from speaking with the group, stating their intent to avoid upsetting the refugees.

According to a spokesperson for South Africa’s airport authority, 49 Afrikaners were aboard the flight.

Although U.S. officials planned a welcoming event for the refugees upon their expected arrival in Washington on Monday morning, the program has faced criticism from aid organizations, migrant rights activists, and South African officials and public opinion, who argue that it undermines a system designed to assist the most vulnerable.

Some prominent Afrikaner activists in South Africa have also expressed a preference for receiving support to improve their lives within their own country rather than resettlement abroad.

This refugee program has further strained already tense relations between South Africa and the United States.

President Trump has equated South African government efforts to address racial inequalities from the apartheid era with discrimination against white citizens, while South African authorities view the granting of refugee status to Afrikaners as a politically motivated attempt to discredit their nation. The U.S. government has also criticized South Africa for its close ties with Iran and its firm stance against Israel, including filing a genocide claim at the International Court of Justice over the Gaza conflict.

For many Afrikaners, descendants of European settlers who arrived centuries ago, these issues transcend politics.

“No white person in their right mind would stay in this country,” said Jaco van der Merwe, 52, an Afrikaner from Johannesburg. He added that he and his wife had been victims of violent attacks and denied jobs because of their race. “I believe South Africa is finished.”

Van der Merwe said he had reached out to the U.S. embassy in South Africa to inquire about refugee status but had yet to receive a response.

In March, the U.S. State Department reported receiving more than 8,000 applications for this refugee status, though it remains unclear when additional admissions will take place.

Much of the Afrikaner discontent centers on experiences in rural communities and unresolved tensions over land ownership dating back to the end of apartheid more than 30 years ago.

Many Afrikaners rely on farming for their livelihoods. Under apartheid, black South Africans were denied access to prime agricultural land, resulting in commercial farming being dominated by white farmers—a trend that largely continues today.

Although white South Africans make up only about 7 percent of the population, they own farmland covering roughly half the country. This disparity reflects broader economic inequalities, as white South Africans enjoy higher employment rates, lower poverty levels, and greater incomes compared to their black counterparts.

Post-apartheid land redistribution efforts have largely faltered due to corruption, insufficient financial support for black farmers, and reluctance among many white farmers to sell their land voluntarily.

This year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa enacted legislation enabling the government to expropriate private land without compensation. Although legal experts note that such seizures are subject to strict judicial review and are expected to be rare, Afrikaner community leaders fear the loss of their farmland.

While no expropriations have occurred to date, in February, President Trump inaccurately claimed on social media that the South African government was confiscating land.