US has let in 4,499 refugees since October - all but three were South African

10 April 2026

Mayeni JonesAfrica correspondent, Johannesburg

Reuters

The first group of white South Africans granted refugee status arrived in the US in May last year

President Donald Trump's overhaul of US refugee policies has created a major shift in the number and nationalities of people admitted to the country, US government data shows.

Since October 2025, 4,499 refugees were resettled in the US, according to the Refugee Processing Center. All, except three from Afghanistan, were South African.

In the last full fiscal year of the Biden administration, which started in October 2023, 125,000 people were accepted from 85 countries.

Last year, Trump halted all refugee admissions, including for applicants from warzones, but allowed Afrikaners, a white minority group he said was persecuted, to seek resettlement. South Africa objected to his characterisation.

In announcing the change, Trump said it would help strengthen national security and public safety.

Priority was to be given to Afrikaner South Africans and "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands", according to an announcement.

The president "has explained why we are resettling Afrikaner refugees in the United States", a state department spokesperson told the BBC when asked about the latest resettlement figures.

"The US position on this humanitarian initiative has not changed."

Diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pretoria have been rising since Trump returned to the White House.

Just over a year ago, South Africa's ambassador in the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled after accusing Trump of "mobilising a supremacism" and trying to "project white victimhood as a dog whistle".

Then, in the Oval Office in May, Trump confronted his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, where he claimed that white farmers in South Africa were targets of persecution and "genocide".

Ramaphosa tried to refute Trump's assertions and was backed up by John Steenhuisen, the white leader of the Democratic Alliance, which is part of the coalition government.

"Certainly, the majority of South Africa's commercial and smallholder farmers really do want to stay in South Africa and make it work," Steenhuisen told Trump.

In October, the South African government criticised the US decision to prioritise refugee applications from white Afrikaners, saying claims of a white genocide have been widely discredited and lacked reliable evidence.

It highlighted an open letter published by prominent members of the Afrikaner community - including academics, businesspeople and descendants of apartheid-era figures - who rejected the narrative, with some signatories calling the relocation scheme racist.

The first group of 68 South African refugees reached the US in May last year. The numbers began ticking up this year, with 2,848 people arriving across February and March.

They have resettled across the US, with the highest concentration - 543 - living in Texas.

More on the story from the BBC:

White South Africans divided on US refugee offer

South Africa hits back at US refugee plan to favour white Afrikaners

Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?

Do Afrikaners want to take Trump up on his South African refugee offer?

Getty Images/BBC

"The first group of white South Africans granted refugee status arrived in the US in May last year.."

Fake news... it's not only white South Africans ...all South African minorities...this is deliberate distortion of the facts...the executive order is clear.

Priority was to be given to Afrikaner South Africans and "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands", according to an announcement."

"The first group of 68 South African refugees reached the US in May last year. The numbers began ticking up this year, with 2,848 people arriving across February and March.

Also wrong ..the 1st group consisted 59, including non white refugees.

Close to 5000 left, how many to follow?..not to mention the million plus who've already emigrated over the years...gonna get worse under Cyril's South Africa....SIES!!!

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Draad , have you thought about Perth , a burgeoning SA pop of 40000 +, shitload of jobs ... rugby, roast on a Sunday & Fosters on tap ?

Bob, I thought about Aus for a while, especially Perth with it's Mediterranean climate ..a bit harsher than Cape Town, but still closer than most places ...

I was offered a job there a while ago ..well not there ..close to there ...but working away from home...I don't want to do that anymore.

I decided to rather give the US a go...better work opportunities for me ...I should have been transferred a few years back, but things slowed down for the company a bit and everything got delayed until recently... I've been in Houston, Tx since Feb the 3rd... can't stand the sight of decay in my Cape Town anymore...making me bitter....I had to put some distance between me and that, before it was too late... difficult but staying wasn't an option anymore, my kids deserve a better life.

',,,,,,,my kids deserve a better life.'

Well done.....it's not about you, it's about the kids.

Go well.

Thanks.

and Draad, expect many challenges, the first 5 years for many reasons are the hardest ......doing it for the kids will be your greatest motivation as it was for me........you'll get there. I didn't want my kids to grow up in a society that was race-conscious....no child should.

GL

Shout you a beer when next I visit LOL

"Shout you a beer when next I visit LOL"

I'll always be up for that, no matter our differences...pity I missed out last time you were in CT...ah well, ah well, spilled milk...next time ...

Visiting CT now would be hard, I’m not sure I want to change the images that still linger in my dreams

"Visiting CT now would be hard, I’m not sure I want to change the images that still linger in my dreams."

That's what's the worst ...seeing everything crumble...every day there's something new broken forever...my work for the past 5 years took me to the front lines of decay most people in the suburbs are oblivious to...made me bitter...no more. I had enough...new beginning...hard but worth it.