Afrikaner refugee families arrive at Dulles International Airport in Virginia in May 2025. Image credit Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
United States officials are considering a research and advertising campaign to persuade more Afrikaners to emigrate to America. According to The Guardian, the proposed Afrikaner ad campaign would cost about $335 000.
The US mission in South Africa drew up the proposal in August, together with a State Department research unit, for the embassy in Pretoria. The Guardian has seen the document. It shows that officials want to understand why fewer white Afrikaners than expected are applying for refugee status in the United States.
According to the proposal, applications have trended lower than expected since November 2025, when Afrikaners first gained the option to apply directly online. The document also admits that officials have little research on why Afrikaners are not applying.
How the Afrikaner ad campaign would work
The proposal sets out three phases. First, officials would hold focus groups in several South African communities, including Pretoria, Stellenbosch and Orania. Next, they would survey 1 000 Afrikaners to test which messages might convince them to move. Finally, they would run a six month online campaign, mainly in Afrikaans, to encourage people to emigrate.
However, the plan remains a proposal, and officials have not yet approved it. In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said the United States continues to process and admit Afrikaners in South Africa as refugees.
The refugee programme grew out of claims by President Donald Trump that white South Africans face persecution and a so called white genocide. The South African government has rejected those claims. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola has described the idea of a white genocide as fake news.
At the same time, Trump has sharply cut overall refugee admissions to the United States. He reduced the cap from 125 000 under Joe Biden to 7 500, before later raising it to 17 000. According to reports, the United States admitted 16 292 refugees in the financial year that ended on 30 September, and South Africans made up the vast majority of them.
Nevertheless, many Afrikaners have shown little interest in leaving. When the programme first launched, several Afrikaner organisations, including AfriForum, made it clear that they intend to stay in South Africa. In addition, some Afrikaners who moved to the United States have since returned home.
Meanwhile, commentary across social media platforms remains divided. Some users see the proposal as proof that the programme has struggled to attract interest. Others question why the United States would spend money to encourage South African citizens to leave their own country.
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