Overview

• Fifty-nine white South African Afrikaners were welcomed to the U.S. under a Trump administration program granting expedited refugee status.
• The South African government denied claims of persecution, with President Cyril Ramaphosa rejecting allegations of racial violence or land confiscation targeting whites.
• Critics have highlighted the administration's termination of protections for other refugee groups, such as Afghans and Haitians, as evidence of a racially selective policy.
• The Episcopal Church ended its federal refugee resettlement partnership in protest, citing its commitment to racial justice and opposition to preferential treatment.
• Trump cited alleged genocide and land seizures under South Africa's Expropriation Act as justification, though no land has yet been seized under the law, according to South African officials.