FROM THE OUTSIDE | Refugees and “Apartheid”

Por

José Carreño Figueras

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Publicado: 12/5/2025 · 5:07 p.m. MX | Actualizado: 12/5/2025 · 5:07 p.m. MX

In a move that is, at the very least, controversial, a group of 59 white South Africans, granted refugee status by President Donald Trump’s administration, arrived Monday at Dulles Airport, near the U.S. capital.

The program is widely criticized as racially motivated: the Trump administration claims that the Afrikaners—descendants of Dutch settlers who arrived in what is now South Africa over 200 years ago—are victims of discrimination and even genocide.

The “relocation” of these alleged refugees raises questions about the real motives behind President Trump’s refugee policy and the influence of his advisor, billionaire businessman Elon Musk, a South African native who left the country at 17 and has never lived under Black-majority rule.

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The South African government has rejected the notion that these individuals are refugees or persecuted. Although whites are now a minority, they ruled South Africa for over a century under the “Apartheid” regime, which ended in 1991 after a growing social, political, and economic crisis forced the country to recognize its Black majority. Nelson Mandela was then elected on a platform of racial reconciliation between long-divided communities.

According to the U.S. government’s argument, a decree issued this past January by South Africa allows for the expropriation of farms and rural properties without compensation as part of an agrarian reform intended to address the legacy of apartheid and reduce inequality between the white minority and the Black majority. Official figures show that Black Africans make up 80% of the population but own only 4% of the land.

Beyond the Trump administration’s justification, the deeper issue is that after taking office in January, the president suspended all other refugee resettlements—including for those fleeing war and famine. Thousands of Venezuelans and other Latin Americans are now caught in legal limbo, and those already in the U.S. face the risk of deportation back to the countries they fled.

The contrast is stark, especially since the U.S. government will cover the costs of travel to the U.S. for the 59 South African refugees, as well as possibly other resettlement expenses. It was noted that most of them are farmers and agricultural workers.

Speaking to CNN, Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, described the policy as “a racialized immigration program disguised as refugee resettlement,” while the genuine refugees he referred to remain stranded.

However, they are not white, nor do they have a lawyer like Musk.

José Carreño Figueras