First batch of white South African refugees land in US as Trump cites 'racial discrimination'

A group of 49 white South Africans landed in the United States this week after being granted refugee status by the Trump administration, a move that has sparked international controversy and raised sharp questions about race, asylum policy, and political motivations.

Arriving at Dulles International Airport aboard a US-chartered private plane, the group—mostly Afrikaners—was welcomed by senior Trump officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar. Children in the group waved small American flags as officials spoke of their struggles and offered reassurances of safety and support.

“You are really welcome here,” Landau told the group in a hangar at the airport. “We respect the long tradition of your people and what you have had to deal with.”

President Donald Trump defended the decision, citing what he called "a genocide" against white farmers in South Africa . He has long promoted claims that Afrikaners face race-based violence and property confiscation under the post-apartheid government. Speaking to reporters earlier, Trump said he planned to raise the matter directly with South African leadership.

However, the South African government has rejected these claims as "completely false." President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had spoken to Trump and explained that the information he was acting on was misinformation, largely spread by groups opposed to land reform and racial transformation efforts.

“There is no data at all that backs that there is persecution of white South Africans or white Afrikaners in particular,” Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said. While white farmers have been victims of rural crime, he noted, they are affected in much the same way as other citizens.

The resettlement follows an executive order signed by Trump in February, which fast-tracks refugee applications for white South African farmers on grounds of " race-based persecution " a sharp departure from the usual refugee process that can take years. Critics have pointed to the contradiction between this decision and Trump’s broader immigration policy, which largely halted refugee admissions from other parts of the world.

Reports suggest that as many as 1,000 Afrikaners could be resettled in the US this year. The Episcopal Church’s migration service has refused to take part, citing its commitment to racial justice. Still, Trump allies like Elon Musk have echoed the president's concerns, with Musk claiming on social media that South African politicians are encouraging “white genocide”—a claim widely discredited by experts.

Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch, German, and French settlers, make up about 7% of South Africa’s population but retain a disproportionate share of the country’s wealth and farmland.