A University of Pretoria historian said the 'US does not care for Afrikaners and fears America may not be majority white by 2050'.
The United States (US) State Department says President Donald Trump has “prioritised” refugee admissions for Afrikaners.
The State Department was responding to a request for comment from The Citizen after University of Pretoria historian Dr Lindie Koorts claimed that the US does not care about Afrikaners and fears it may no longer have a white majority by 2050.
US politics
Koorts made the comments after a group of Afrikaans-speaking South Africans authored and co-signed an article, “Not in our Name: Afrikaners Respond to the Misuse of Their Story in US Politics”, published in October.
In their response, the group said they “reject the US narrative that casts Afrikaners as victims of racial persecution in post-apartheid South Africa”.
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Afrikaners
Koorts said there were media reports that Afrikaners “feel disillusioned” by Trump’s executive order directing his administration to prioritise the resettlement of “Afrikaner refugees” in the US after accusing South Africa of undermining landowners on the basis of their race.
“There are media reports, especially in the Afrikaans media, of some of the first group of refugees who went to the US and actually feel quite disillusioned. It’s not as easy there as here in South Africa, especially if they run into medical difficulties and do not have health insurance in the US. That is an absolute nightmare.
“Not that our system is perfect, but there are places where it can be even harsher. And also, refugee status means you can’t return to your friends and family, you’re not going to come back for holidays and Christmas,” Koorts said.
Trump order ‘clear’
However, the US State Department said Trump’s Executive Order 14204, signed by the US president on February 7, “was very clear”.
“It prioritised refugee admissions for Afrikaners in South Africa who are escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination
“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, the State Department has helped to provide a new life for these refugees in America, where they will live in freedom, safety, and opportunity,” it told The Citizen.
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‘White genocide’
Last week, Pretoria criticised the decision by the US to prioritise refugee applications from white Afrikaners, saying claims of a white genocide have been widely discredited and lack reliable evidence.
In a document published on Thursday, the Trump administration stated that the US refugee system would largely remain closed in 2026 to the millions of people worldwide fleeing unsafe conditions.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Chrispin Phiri slammed the decision, saying the programme remains concerning and still appears to rest on a “premise that is factually inaccurate and a disregard for our constitutional processes”.
“This claim of a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa is widely discredited and unsupported by reliable evidence,” said Phiri.
‘Flawed’
Phiri said a programme designed to facilitate their immigration and resettlement as refugees is “fundamentally flawed”.
“The limited uptake of this offer by South Africans is 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. Conflating the two is a serious mischaracterisation that carries significant legal consequences for individuals and undermines international protection systems,” Phiri said.
US partnership
Phiri said South Africa values its “strategic partnership with the US” and remains committed to collaborating on issues of mutual concern through dialogue and a shared respect for international law and national sovereignty.
The Trump administration did not provide a reason for the decrease in refugee numbers — the lowest refugee cap in the country’s history — but cited humanitarian concerns and what the administration described as “justified national interest”.
The 7 500 refugee slots were decreased from the 125 000 cap the Biden administration had set last year.
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