The first white South Africans granted refugee status under a program initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump—citing claims of discrimination—departed from Johannesburg this Sunday, May 11, 2025, for the United States.
A Reuters news agency reporter described seeing a line of white passengers at the airport with their luggage, waiting to have their passports stamped before entering the departure lounge.
According to Collen Msibi, spokesperson for South Africa’s Ministry of Transport, a U.S.-chartered plane carried 49 passengers.
Msibi confirmed that the refugees were white Afrikaners, an ethnic group descending mainly from Dutch, German, and French settlers. Afrikaners were historically in power during South Africa’s apartheid regime—a system of racial segregation that heavily oppressed Black citizens.
Afrikaners make up around 60% of South Africa’s white population, and whites as a whole account for about 7% of the country’s total population.
Despite their minority status, white South Africans still control roughly 78% of the land and possess wealth that is at least 20 times greater than that of the Black majority.
