JOHANNESBURG, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 4,496 South Africans were admitted to the United States as refugees from Oct. 1, 2025, to March 31, accounting for nearly all refugee arrivals during the period, South African media outlet Independent Online reported on Saturday, citing data from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
The figures showed that only three refugees from Afghanistan were admitted over the same period, reflecting a sharp decline in overall refugee admissions under U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which significantly reduced the annual refugee intake while prioritizing applications from Afrikaners, a white minority group in South Africa.
The report added that February and March this year recorded the highest arrivals, with more than 1,300 people resettled each month.
In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order launching a refugee program for white South Africans, primarily Afrikaners, citing alleged racial discrimination and violence against them, claims that were strongly rejected by the South African government.
Relations between Washington and Pretoria were further strained after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met Trump at the White House in May 2025, where the U.S. president reiterated allegations of a so-called "white genocide" against Afrikaners. Ramaphosa rejected the claims, saying the assertion that white South Africans were fleeing violence and racist laws was unfounded.
Afrikaners are a white ethnic group in South Africa, mainly descended from Dutch, French and German settlers who arrived at the Cape from the 17th century onward. ■