Afrikaners who emigrated to the US under Trump are not refugees, say experts

Scores of Afrikaners who emigrated from South Africa to the United States are being falsely referred to as “refugees” or “asylum seekers,”  a claim migration experts and human rights organisations say is inaccurate and misleading.

Trump said he would prioritise immigration status to white South African farmers, citing alleged persecution and even going as far as referencing a so-called “white genocide.” The claim, widely circulated in far-right circles, was based on unverified reports that white farmers were being systematically targeted for violent attacks because of their race.

However, multiple investigations by international watchdogs, the United Nations, and the South African Human Rights Commission have found no evidence of a racial genocide or campaign against white South Africans.“There is no civil war in South Africa, and there is no state-sanctioned violence targeting white communities,” said Dr. Lindiwe Maseko, a political analyst at the University of the Witwatersrand.

“Crime is a national crisis, but it affects all races. The idea that white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, qualify as refugees under international law is false.”According to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, a refugee is defined as someone fleeing persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, generally under circumstances of war or extreme oppression.

Experts say the economic difficulties, rising crime, and land reform debates in South Africa do not meet this threshold.“There is no credible basis for Afrikaners to claim refugee or asylum status in the U.S.,” said Professor Eric Goldstein, a migration law specialist. “Leaving for economic or safety reasons is emigration, not flight from persecution.”

The labelling of these migrants as refugees also undermines the legitimacy of actual asylum seekers escaping war, dictatorship, and systemic oppression in countries like Syria, Sudan, or Afghanistan.“

Using the term ‘refugee’ in this context not only distorts reality but insults the experiences of those fleeing real humanitarian crises,” Goldstein added.

While every individual has the right to seek a better life abroad, experts agree that Afrikaners leaving South Africa under Trump’s policy were not escaping persecution, but rather pursuing personal and economic opportunities, and should not be classified as refugees.