Nearly 5 000 white Afrikaners resettled in US under Trump refugee carve-out as SA slams ‘persecution’ claims
Eight alleged Black Axe members lose bid to avoid extradition to America
Nearly 5 000 white Afrikaners have been admitted to the United States as refugees under a special programme launched by President Donald Trump, despite Washington’s own refugee system being all but shut down for most other nationalities.
NEARLY 5 000 white Afrikaners have entered the United States under a programme launched by President Donald Trump nearly a year ago based on unfounded claims that the South African minority faces persecution, a document seen by AFP on Wednesday showed.
The carve-out for white Afrikaans‑speakers comes as Pretoria pushes back strongly against assertions by Trump’s administration that Afrikaners are victims of racial discrimination and even “genocide” in post‑apartheid South Africa – claims the South African government has repeatedly rejected as inaccurate and politically motivated.
The Trump administration has essentially ended refugee admissions as part of a crackdown on immigration, but made an exception for South Africa’s white Afrikaans community, descendants of the first European settlers.
A document from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population shows that, between 1 October last year and 31 March this year, refugee slots were overwhelmingly taken up by South Africans.
All of 4 499 people listed as resettled across 48 US states between October 1 last year and March 31 this year were South Africans, except for three Afghans, according to the document from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Population.
Another 340 South Africans were admitted in the previous financial year, after Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.
The pace of arrivals has increased sharply in recent months.
February and March this year saw the most arrivals, with more than 1300 people resettled each month.
Trump’s administration in May last year opened the door specifically to the white Afrikaner minority, framing them as refugees from racial persecution.
Trump’s administration in May last year made the offer of refugee status to the minority white Afrikaner community, claiming they were victims of racial discrimination and even “genocide”, which the South African government strongly denies.
The first group of around 50 travelled to the United States on a chartered flight on May 12, while later arrivals took commercial flights.
At the same time, the overall US refugee ceiling has been slashed. In October, Washington announced one of the lowest caps on refugee admissions in modern history – with priority explicitly given to white South Africans.
The US government in October announced it would slash refugee admissions to 7500 in fiscal year 2026, down from more than 100000 a year under Democratic President Joe Biden, and give priority to white South Africans.
The policy has deepened tensions between Pretoria and Washington, whose relationship was already strained over a range of foreign policy and trade issues.
Pretoria and Washington, already at odds over a range of policy issues, clashed in December after South Africa raided a centre set up to fasttrack resettlement applications to the United States.
That raid targeted a facility alleged to be processing fast‑tracked applications for Afrikaners claiming persecution. US officials have repeatedly justified the programme by pointing to farm attacks and affirmative action‑style policies aimed at boosting black representation in business.
Washington has repeatedly claimed that Afrikaners are being persecuted since the end of white minority rule in 1994, citing attacks on their farms and requirements for black representation in business.
The South African government, however, insists that the narrative of white genocide bears no resemblance to crime realities on the ground, and says empowerment laws are a constitutional response to structural inequality, not a campaign of persecution.
Pretoria firmly rejects the allegations, pointing out that black South Africans are the main victims of the country’s high crime rate and that economic empowerment laws are intended to redress stark inequalities inherited from apartheid.
The dispute over Afrikaner refugee admissions feeds into a wider, often heated debate about race, crime and land in South Africa – and about how these issues are weaponised in international politics.
While that row continues, South African courts are also dealing with another major front in cross‑border crime and justice: the extradition of alleged cyber fraud syndicate members to the US.
Eight alleged Black Axe members lose extradition appeal
Meanwhile, eight Nigerian nationals accused of operating a large-scale fraud syndicate from Cape Town now face extradition to the US after the Western Cape High Court dismissed their appeal.
The alleged members of the Neo Black Movement (NBM) of Africa, known as Black Axe criminal syndicate, were found liable for extradition to the US.
This is after the Western Cape High Court dismissed their appeal against their extradition to the US this week.
The ruling upheld a 2024 decision that the men can be surrendered to face prosecution in the United States under South Africa’s Extradition Act.
The ruling upheld the 2024 decision that the eight Nigerian nationals, who are members of the Black Axe, are liable for surrender under Section 10(1) of the Extradition Act.
This is after the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court found that there is sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution in the US, in accordance with the Act’s requirements.
According to court papers, the eight are accused of being part of a transnational organised crime group that allegedly ran sophisticated online scams from Parklands, Cape Town. These included romance scams and business email compromise (BEC) attacks targeting individuals and companies in the US.
These members allegedly operated a transnational syndicate from Parklands, Cape Town, that used romance scams and business email compromise (BEC) schemes to defraud victims in the US, leading to estimated losses of nearly $7 million (R100 million).
US authorities estimate that victims were fleeced of nearly $7 million – close to R100 million – through long‑running schemes in which fraudsters allegedly posed as romantic partners, business contacts or trusted suppliers to trick victims into sending money.
The High Court’s decision means the Justice Minister can now consider a final surrender order, bringing South Africa a step closer to handing over the accused to American prosecutors.
Taken together, the two strands – Afrikaners leaving South Africa for the US under a controversial refugee programme, and alleged Black Axe members being sent in the opposite direction to face criminal charges – highlight the increasingly complex and politically charged nature of South Africa’s migration and justice ties with Washington.
