Johannesburg – The South African Government says it has taken note of the recent Presidential Determination by the United States regarding widely discredited claims of “white genocide,” a reason for offering them refugee status.
A notice issued by the Trump administration drastically reduces the overall US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) ceiling to 7 500 for Fiscal Year 2026 (starting 1 October 2025), explicitly prioritises admissions for Afrikaners.
The white South Africans will be allocated most of the slots, and the rest will go to “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”
A statement released Friday, 31 October 2025, by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said: “This programme remains concerning and still appears to rest on a premise that is factually inaccurate and a disregard for our constitutional processes”.
The statement added: “The claim of a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa is widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence.
“This is further evidenced by the courageous and patriotic open letter from prominent members of the Afrikaner community themselves, who have publicly rejected this very narrative.
“Therefore, a programme designed to facilitate their immigration and resettlement as refugees is fundamentally flawed.”
Spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said the limited uptake of this offer by South Africans was a telling indicator of this reality.
The South African Constitution guarantees the right of any citizen to emigrate through legal channels.
“We must, however, draw a critical distinction between voluntary migration and refugee asylum,” Phiri said.
“Conflating the two is a serious mischaracterisation that carries significant legal consequences for individuals and undermines international protection systems.
“South Africa values its strategic partnership with the United States and remains committed to collaborating on issues of mutual concern through dialogue and a shared respect for international law and national sovereignty.”
