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

US Refugee Admissions Shift Under Trump Policy

According to US government records, the refugee resettlement program has seen a dramatic change under President Donald Trump’s policy adjustments. From October 2025 to the present, 4,499 refugees have been admitted to the United States, with only three exceptions—originating from Afghanistan—being South African nationals. This marks a stark contrast to the previous administration’s approach.

In the final full fiscal year of the Biden presidency, which concluded in September 2023, 125,000 individuals were accepted from 85 different countries. However, Trump suspended all refugee admissions in the prior year, focusing instead on Afrikaners, whom he claimed faced persecution in their homeland. Despite this, South Africa contested his portrayal of the group as victims of injustice.

Trump’s decision to prioritize Afrikaner South Africans and others “subject to illegal or unjust discrimination” in their countries was framed as a step to bolster national security. The policy shift intensified diplomatic friction between Washington and Pretoria, particularly after Trump’s return to office. Earlier in 2024, South Africa’s US ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, was sent back home following accusations that Trump was “mobilising a supremacism” and promoting “white victimhood” as a subtle form of racism.

“Certainly, the majority of South Africa’s commercial and smallholder farmers really do want to stay in South Africa and make it work,” said John Steenhuisen, the white leader of the Democratic Alliance, during a meeting with Trump.

During a May 2025 White House encounter, Trump reiterated his stance, labeling white farmers in South Africa as targets of “genocide” and persecution. Ramaphosa, alongside Steenhuisen, challenged these claims, emphasizing that the narrative of a white genocide had lost credibility. The South African government later criticized the US focus on Afrikaner refugees, arguing that the claims lacked solid evidence.

The first cohort of 68 South African refugees arrived in the US in May 2024. This number grew throughout the year, with 2,848 people resettling between February and March 2025. Most have settled across the country, with Texas hosting the highest concentration—543 individuals.

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