A second group of white South African Afrikaners have reportedly arrived in the United States under a controversial refugee policy signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, sparking renewed global debate over race, immigration, and political messaging.
According to posts from the US-based advocacy group Amerikaners, nine white South Africans landed in Atlanta this week as part of a pilot programme framed by the Trump administration as a response to alleged violence and land expropriation in South Africa – claims widely discredited by international human rights organisations.
Granted refugee status
The executive order, quietly signed in February, granted refugee status to select white South Africans, citing fears of a so-called “white genocide” – a term critics say is rooted in white nationalist rhetoric rather than verified facts.
Organisations like Human Rights Watch and Africa Check maintain that while farm attacks do occur, there is no evidence of systemic targeting along racial lines.
Among the recent arrivals is Charl Kleinhaus, 46, from Mpumalanga, who told the BBC he left his home, family, and dogs behind to pursue what he called a “safer future” for his children.
Another, 48-year-old Errol Langton, a farmer from KwaZulu-Natal, expressed hope to continue farming in the US.
Fast-tracking asylum
A source within the US government told The Hill that the goal is to resettle “thousands more” Afrikaners by the end of the American summer, with consular processing already being expedited in Pretoria and Cape Town.
This rapid acceleration has raised red flags.
Critics say the policy selectively elevates a racially privileged group while overlooking far greater humanitarian crises in conflict zones like Sudan, Yemen, or the DRC.
Still, right-wing US commentators have praised the move as a humanitarian response.
South African reactions, meanwhile, remain split: some see it as a lifeline; others as a dangerous and racially charged distortion of the country’s reality.
Official silence
Both the US State Department and the South African government have declined to comment publicly on the numbers or long-term intentions of the refugee programme.
Analysts warn it could become a flashpoint issue in both domestic and foreign policy – particularly as the US heads into the 2026 election cycle.
For now, however, the quiet arrival of these Afrikaner families marks the start of a broader, more contentious immigration experiment – one unfolding at the intersection of politics, identity, and international diplomacy.
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