Trump admin. proposes admitting thousands more Afrikaners to U.S. as refugees

Politics Trump administration proposes welcoming thousands more Afrikaners to U.S. as refugees, citing "emergency" By Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization's social media accounts. Read Full Bio Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Joe Walsh Joe Walsh Senior Editor, Politics Joe Walsh is a senior editor for digital politics at CBS News. Joe previously covered breaking news for Forbes and local news in Boston. Read Full Bio Joe Walsh May 18, 2026 / 9:25 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The Trump administration is doubling down on efforts to resettle White Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees in the U.S., proposing to increase the government's refugee cap to welcome thousands more of them, according to a State Department plan sent to Congress and obtained by CBS News.   The administration has effectively closed the U.S. refugee program for most nationalities, except Afrikaners from South Africa, arguing they're the victims of racial oppression for being White. The South African government has denied persecuting the ethnic minority, composed of descendants of European settlers, mostly from the Netherlands. Now, the State Department says there's an "emergency refugee situation" that warrants more admissions of Afrikaners before the end of the fiscal year. The department told Congress it wants to increase the refugee cap from 7,500 to 17,500, and to offer the 10,000 additional spots to Afrikaners.  The admission of 10,000 additional Afrikaners would cost around $100 million, the State Department said in its proposal.   In that plan, the department argued that Afrikaners have faced "escalating hostility," including critical statements by politicians and a December raid by South African authorities on a U.S. refugee processing center. At the time, South African officials said they had arrested Kenyans who were working at the center illegally, but the U.S. condemned the raid. The U.S. resettled 6,069 refugees between October 2025 and the end of last month, with officials using most of the 7,500 record-low spots allocated by President Trump last year. State Department figures show 6,066 — or 99% — of the refugees were from South Africa, while the other three hailed from Afghanistan. Mr. Trump has alleged that Afrikaners are facing a "genocide," and in a tense Oval Office meeting last year, he confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with a video that spotlighted murders of farmers in the country.  Those claims are heavily disputed. Earlier this year, "60 Minutes" spoke with Afrikaners who rejected the notion that White people are facing a "genocide," and view murders on farms as part of a broader crime problem in South Africa that harms members of all races.  Mr. Trump has also pointed to a controversial South African law that could allow the government to seize land in some circumstances when it is deemed to be in the public interest. The law does not mention the races of affected landowners, though White South Africans own a disproportionate share of the country's land, in a vestige of the apartheid system.  The State Department plan shared with Congress on Monday is a proposal that would need to be formally approved by the president before taking effect. But historically, the consultation with Congress, required by federal law, has been a formality. CBS News has reached out to the State Department for comment. More from CBS News Trump settles $10 billion lawsuit against IRS over tax returns, sets up $1.7 billion fund for claims of "weaponization"