All but three of the 6,069 refugees taken in by the United States since October are White South Africans, according to state department statistics.
At the beginning of Donald Trump’s second presidency, he restricted general refugee admissions to the US, but carved out highly specific, large-scale exceptions for Afrikaner refugees.
The US president accused Pretoria of carrying out a “genocide” against white Afrikaner farmers, claims strongly rejected by the South African government.
During a White House visit in May last year, Mr Trump ambushed Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, with videos apparently showing the persecution of white South Africans within the country.
Mr Trump said people “were fleeing” while demanding an “explanation” for what he described as a “very sad situation”.
“We have thousands of stories talking about it, we have documentaries, we have news stories… it has to be responded to,” the US president said.
On Monday, the State Department announced plans to more than double the number of refugee places available to Afrikaners during the fiscal year, increasing the cap from 7,500 to 17,500.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, defended the expansion in comments to the Washington Post, calling it “shameful” to “diminish the horrific treatment experienced by Afrikaners.”
She added that the community was “no less deserving of help than the thousands of refugees admitted under the Biden administration”.
Mr Trump has implemented an immigration crackdown since returning to office.
In December last year, after two National Guards were shot allegedly by an Afghan migrant, the administration announced a wave of policy changes which meant the president had either tightened or halted every form of illegal immigration in the country.
This included a pause on asylum decisions, a review of cases under the Biden administration and a “reexamination” of certain green card holders.
On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled broader immigration procedures.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that foreigners seeking to adjust their immigration status in the US to secure green cards will have to do so from outside the country via the state department.
“An alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply,” the US Department of Homeland Security said.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes.”
