Some applications from white South Africans who had been promised refugee status in the United States under an executive order signed by Trump in February 2025 were rejected, causing disappointment. A total of more than 13 thousand people were admitted to the program, including 68 in May 2025 and more than 2 thousand 600 in August 2026. The Guardian reported that applicants had received rejection letters as of June 30. USCIS found some cases ineligible for resettlement, did not disclose the reasons and provided no right of appeal. The number of rejections is unknown. Some people learned the reasons through FOIA. One applicant said their joint application had been rejected because of his former girlfriend’s previous marijuana-related conviction. Spokesperson Zach Kahler said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security remained committed to resettling Afrikaners. The Trump administration had also suspended aid to South Africa over the “2024 Expropriation Act,” the “genocide” case before UAD and the country’s relations with Iran.
Why it matters
The program’s prioritization of a specific group does not change the fact that admission is not automatic and that individual case reviews remain decisive. The failure to explain the reasons directly to applicants and the absence of an appeal process make the decisions more difficult to scrutinize, leaving individuals to seek information only through FOIA. The fact that the number of rejections is unknown makes it impossible to assess whether the decisions were limited to exceptional cases or affected a broader portion of the program. The possibility that a former partner’s previous conviction could affect a joint application raises the question of how individual backgrounds are applied to the entire case for joint applicants. The program’s coincidence with the suspension of aid to South Africa and other disputes makes refugee policy part of the broader political approach between the two countries.
Background
Trump is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: over the past 90 days, we have published 18 news stories mentioning this name; the latest was dated September 13, 2026.