A group of 49 white South Africans, primarily Afrikaner families, arrived at Dulles International Airport on Monday morning as the first beneficiaries of a controversial refugee relocation program initiated by the Trump administration. The group departed Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday aboard a privately chartered Omni Air International flight, with a refueling stop in Dakar, Senegal. They were accompanied by police and vetted by authorities prior to departure to ensure no outstanding criminal cases, according to South Africa’s Transport Ministry spokesperson Collen Msibi.
This resettlement follows a February 7 executive order by President Donald Trump, which accused South Africa’s Black-led government of “racial persecution” against its white minority, particularly Afrikaners — descendants of Dutch and French settlers — and pledged to offer them refuge in the U.S. Trump’s administration has halted arrivals from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and much of sub-Saharan Africa, while fast-tracking applications for Afrikaners, sparking international backlash and legal challenges.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Refugee Resettlement is overseeing their integration, providing housing, furniture, food assistance, clothing, and other essentials. A welcoming delegation, including the Deputy Secretary of State, greeted them at the airport. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said this marks the beginning of a “much larger-scale relocation effort,” describing the treatment of Afrikaners as “race-based persecution” and a “textbook case for refugee protection.”
However, the South African government has rejected these allegations, calling them “completely false” and affirming that no Afrikaners are being persecuted. It pointed out that Afrikaners are among the most economically privileged groups in South Africa, with notable representation in business, politics, and culture. The controversial land expropriation law cited by the Trump administration has not yet resulted in any seizures, and affirmative action policies apply broadly across disadvantaged groups.
Critics in South Africa and abroad argue that the Trump administration’s prioritization of white South Africans contradicts traditional U.S. refugee policy, which typically gives precedence to those fleeing war, famine, or systemic repression. Trump’s order also cut U.S. aid to South Africa, citing its alleged anti-white bias, hostility toward U.S. allies, and alignment with countries like Iran, as well as its support for legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
The Afrikaner relocation program remains highly divisive and is being challenged in U.S. courts over claims of racial bias and political motivations. Yet, more charter flights are expected in the coming months as the administration pushes forward with what it calls a “refugee priority initiative.” There are an estimated 2.7 million Afrikaners in South Africa, within a national population of approximately 62 million.
