The Trump administration said it will increase U.S. refugee admissions for Afrikaners, telling Congress it plans to admit up to 17,500 of the group through the fiscal year ending in September, according to an emergency State Department notice described by The Associated Press. The notice was sent to lawmakers on Monday evening and obtained by AP.
In the proposal, the administration linked the change to what it called an emergency situation in South Africa, citing “unforeseen developments in South Africa” and saying it will admit more refugees than it initially indicated earlier in the fiscal year. The administration’s earlier indication to Congress last year was that it would admit up to 7,500, mostly Afrikaners, in the same period.
The State Department said the escalation in admissions is tied to risk facing Afrikaners at home, including what it described as discrimination and persecution. The notice said the South African government’s rhetoric across multiple ministries and political parties has sought to undermine the U.S. resettlement program and attacked Afrikaners, and it cited comments from South African political figures including President Cyril Ramaphosa.
AP reported that the notice also pointed to a December incident in which South African government officials raided a U.S. refugee processing center, which the administration previously denounced as “unacceptable.” In its Monday notice, the administration said the “escalating hostility heightens the risks to Afrikaners in South Africa,” and it added that Afrikaners are already subject to “far-reaching government-sponsored race-based discrimination.”
The notice described a change from an initial level of admissions disclosed last year, when the administration said it would admit 7,500 Afrikaners and presented the resulting figure as a historic low for refugees admitted to the U.S. since the program began in 1980. The State Department estimated the cost for resettling the additional 10,000 refugees at about $100 million, according to AP’s account of the State Department statement.
The move comes after a bitter diplomatic clash between Trump and Ramaphosa last year, AP said. In that encounter, Trump played a video featuring a far-left politician chanting a song with the lyrics “kill the farmer,” and Trump has repeatedly accused South Africa of failing to address a systematic killing of white farmers. AP reported that experts in South Africa have said there is no evidence that whites are targeted for their race, while farmers of all races are victims of violence in the country, where crime rates are high.
AP said Ramaphosa addressed the referenced behavior during a May 2025 meeting, saying “we are completely opposed to” the behavior Trump referenced and adding that “that is not government policy” and “our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying.” The South African government said the administration’s claims are baseless, AP reported.
Under U.S. law, the administration must inform lawmakers about refugee levels for each fiscal year and must consult them, AP said. An administration consultation with Congress was described as scheduled to occur later this week, according to a congressional aide granted anonymity to confirm a private meeting.
AP reported that CNN first revealed the new refugee levels. The administration said it would meet the statutory requirement by notifying Congress through the emergency State Department notice while it prepared the follow-up consultation process with lawmakers.