DULLES, VIRGINIA — President Donald Trump is taking bold action to protect a group many in the media refuse to even acknowledge: white South African farmers. On Monday, nearly 60 Afrikaner refugees—many of them families with young children—were officially welcomed to the United States after fleeing violent persecution in South Africa.
At Washington Dulles International Airport, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar greeted the group, some of whom waved American flags as they deboarded a government-chartered flight.
These families are the first wave of refugees resettled under Trump’s February 7 executive order, which suspended foreign aid to South Africa and opened the door to asylum protections for white Afrikaners, a minority group facing targeted attacks and land seizures back home.
President Trump has not minced words about the crisis:
“They’re being killed, and we don’t want to see people be killed,” Trump said at a White House briefing, speaking just as the flight arrived. “But it’s a genocide that’s taking place that you people don’t want to write about. But it’s a terrible thing that’s taking place.”
“Farmers are being killed, they happen to be white. But whether they’re white or black makes no difference to me,” he continued. “What’s happening is terrible.”
He then slammed the mainstream media for ignoring the atrocities:
“If it were the other way around, they’d talk about it. That would be the only story they’d talk about. And I don’t care who they are… I just know that what’s happening is terrible.”
The refugees shared their stories of home invasions, physical assaults, and government-sanctioned discrimination. Many are farmers whose land has been passed down for generations, now threatened by South Africa’s Expropriation Act—a law allowing the government to seize land without compensation.
“Many of these folks have experience with threatening invasions of their homes, their farms, and a real lack of interest or success of the government in doing anything about this situation,” said Landau.
He also called out inflammatory rhetoric used by some South African politicians:
“Several very vociferous South African politicians [are] repeating things like ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Afrikaner,’ and these people have been living under a shadow of violence and terror for some time now.”
“This is a group that has not experienced [equal justice] and has, to the contrary, experienced violence, and really feared for their lives in South Africa.”
Deputy Secretary Edgar praised President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for making the resettlement possible and reflected on his own family’s journey to America.
“This is a real situation. These people have went through a lot of stuff, and we’re just grateful to have them in the U.S.”
“My wife was an Iranian. Came over during the regime change in the 70s, and she’s now here. Speaks five languages, a schoolteacher. We think the American dream is possible for the South Africans. We’re super excited for them.”
Both Edgar and Landau offered their personal contact information to the refugees to help them settle in and succeed.
Trump made it clear that more Afrikaner refugees could soon be welcomed, while issuing a stern warning to South Africa’s leaders. He hinted that unless progress is made to stop the violence, he may reconsider America’s participation in the upcoming G20 summit, scheduled for November in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“South Africa leadership is coming to see me… I don’t know how we can go unless that situation’s taken care of.”
This resettlement effort reflects President Trump’s commitment to standing up for those suffering from political violence—even when the media refuses to tell their stories. These white South Africans, some of whom were targeted just for owning land, now have a second chance to live freely and safely in the U.S.
For those unfamiliar with the situation in South Africa, reports on farm attacks and land expropriation have been covered by outlets like The Guardian, though rarely highlighted in American media. Trump’s leadership brings attention to a crisis many have chosen to ignore.
