President Trump moved ahead on Monday with plans to allow 10,000 more white South Africans into the United States as refugees, even as the program remains closed off to people from every other country in the world, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.
In a report submitted to Congress on Monday, Mr. Trump has proposed lifting the record-low refugee admissions level of 7,500 to 17,500, reserving the additional openings for Afrikaners, who are primarily of Dutch descent.
The administration argued that an “emergency refugee situation” in South Africa warrants the expansion of Mr. Trump’s carve-out for Afrikaners, which has reoriented the U.S. refugee program into essentially a pipeline for members of a white minority to reach the United States.
The government has calculated that the additional 10,000 refugee slots for Afrikaners will cost roughly $100 million, according to the report submitted to Congress.
The administration is expected to hold formal meetings with Congress to discuss the report in the coming days, according to a person familiar with the matter. But the Trump administration has in the past treated such consultations with Congress over its refugee program as a formality before finalizing the changes.
The White House and State Department did not return requests for comment.
Mr. Trump early last year dramatically lowered the number of refugees allowed into the country to 7,500 for this fiscal year, down from the cap of 125,000 set by the Biden administration in 2024. The limited number of slots were reserved mostly for Afrikaners, as well as some other South African minorities.
Mr. Trump and his aides have claimed Afrikaners face racial persecution, an assertion strongly disputed by South African officials. The administration has also publicly attacked the South African government on issues like government land seizures and laws meant to redress the legacy of apartheid.
Presidents typically set a new ceiling for refugee admissions at the end of the fiscal year after consulting with Congress, as required by law. But the administration is now arguing that the response of South African government officials to Mr. Trump’s refugee program amounts to an emergency that warrants getting more of the white South Africans to the United States at a faster rate.
The president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has dismissed Mr. Trump’s claims of persecution against Afrikaners as “white supremacy and white victimhood.” The administration’s report to Congress specifically cites Mr. Ramaphosa’s response. The administration also pointed to an incident in December when South African law enforcement officials in December raided a facility in Johannesburg where refugee applications for Afrikaners were being processed. The State Department accused the South African government of detaining U.S. officials and publicly releasing their passport information.
South Africa denied those claims, saying that in the operation they had arrested Kenyans who had been working illegally at the processing center.
“This escalating hostility heightens the risks to Afrikaners in South Africa, who are already subject to far-reaching government-sponsored race-based discrimination,” the administration said in the refugee proposal submitted to Congress.
Mr. Trump has taken an increasingly hostile approach to South Africa since returning to office. In addition to redirecting refugee officers to the nation to process Afrikaners, Mr. Trump has also imposed high tariffs on South Africa and cut aid.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
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