The Trump administration has proposed admitting thousands more Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees, calling the situation an “emergency” in a State Department plan sent to Congress and obtained by CBS News.
The proposal asks to raise the annual U.S. refugee cap from 7,500 to 17,500 and to allocate the 10,000 additional places to Afrikaners — the ethnic minority descended largely from European settlers, mostly of Dutch origin. The State Department told Congress the expanded admissions are needed before the end of the fiscal year and estimated the extra placements would cost about $100 million.
Administration officials have effectively curtailed refugee admissions for most nationalities while continuing to resettle Afrikaners, arguing they face escalating hostility and racially motivated persecution. The plan cites recent hostile statements by South African politicians and a December raid on a U.S. refugee processing center in South Africa; South African officials said they arrested foreign nationals working at the center illegally, while U.S. officials condemned the raid.
From October 2025 through the end of last month, the U.S. resettled 6,069 refugees, using most of the 7,500 slots allocated last year. State Department data show 6,066 — about 99% — of those refugees were from South Africa; the remaining three were from Afghanistan.
President Trump has publicly described Afrikaners as victims of a “genocide,” and in a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa he raised videos highlighting attacks on farmers. Those assertions are widely disputed. Some Afrikaners interviewed by U.S. media have rejected the “genocide” characterization, saying farm murders reflect a broader crime problem affecting people of all races. Observers also note that a controversial South African land law cited by U.S. officials does not specify race, although White South Africans still own a disproportionate share of land because of historical apartheid-era disparities.
The State Department’s plan must be formally approved by the president to take effect; required consultations with Congress are typically treated as a formality. CBS News has reached out to the State Department for comment.
Reporting by Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News. Updated May 18, 2026.