Trump is bringing white South Africans to the US as refugees, but what persecution are they facing?

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The Trump administration is bringing a small number of white South Africans to the United States as refugees next week in what it says is the start of a larger relocation effort for a minority group who are being persecuted by their Black-led government because of their race.

The South Africans' applications are being fast-tracked by the U.S. after President Donald Trump announced the relocation program in February.

The Trump administration has taken an anti-migrant stance, suspending refugee programs and halting arrivals from other parts of the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Refugee groups have questioned why some white South Africans are being prioritized.

The South African government said the U.S. allegations that the white minority Afrikaners in question are being persecuted are “completely false,” the result of misinformation and an inaccurate view of its country. It cited the fact that Afrikaners are among the richest and most successful people in the country, and said they are amongst “the most economically privileged.”

Afrikaners are the descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century. There are around 2.7 million Afrikaners among South Africa's population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black. Many in South Africa are puzzled by claims that Afrikaners are persecuted and meet the requirements to be refugees.

Afrikaners are part of South Africa’s everyday multi-racial life: many are successful business leaders and some serve in government as Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers. Their language is widely spoken — including by non-Afrikaners — and is recognized as an official language, and churches and other institutions reflecting Afrikaner culture hold prominence in almost every city and town.

So what persecution is the U.S. alleging?

Trump and his South African-born adviser Elon Musk have accused the South African government of having racist anti-white laws and policies, but the claims of persecution center on a relatively small number of violent farm attacks and robberies on white people in rural communities.

The U.S. alleges those attacks are racially motivated and the South African government is “fueling” them by allowing anti-white rhetoric from some political parties not in government and not doing enough to protect rural Afrikaner communities. The government strongly denies that and has condemned the farm attacks, but says their cause is being deliberately mischaracterized.

Violent attacks on farm owners in South Africa have been a problem for years but represent a small percentage of the country's extremely high violent crime rates, which affect all races. The government says there is no targeting of white people in South Africa and no persecution, and farm attacks are part of its struggles with violent crime.

An Afrikaner group called AfriForum records farm attacks and said there were 49 farm homicides in South Africa in 2023. Those are set against a total of more than 20,000 homicides in South Africa a year. Experts say rural communities are susceptible to crime because of their remoteness and less police presence, but Black farm owners and workers are also killed in violent robberies.

Still, many rural white communities have long expressed fear at the threat of violence and feel authorities are not doing enough to protect them. Those claims appear to be part of the requirements to claim refugee status in the U.S., although no details of the application process have been announced.

The Trump administration has also criticized South Africa's affirmative action policies as racist against whites and has falsely claimed white South Africans are having their land taken away by the government under a new expropriation law that promotes “racially discriminatory property confiscation.” No land has been expropriated, but Afrikaners who make up many rural communities have raised fears that their land might be targeted.

South Africa does have laws designed to advance employment opportunities for Blacks, and many white South Africans and white-led political parties have also criticized them and called them racist and counter-productive.

Some Afrikaner groups say the employment, land and other laws are designed to limit their opportunities in South Africa.

Afrikaners were at the heart of South Africa's previous apartheid system of white minority rule and there is a sentiment among some that they and their culture are being targeted in a kind of reverse racism by the Black-led government as punishment for that. The government denies that.

Afrikaners make up just some of South Africa's approximately 4.5 million white people, which also include those who have British and other heritage.

But the Trump administration's refugee program only offers relocation to Afrikaners, who are largely seen as holding conservative and Christian values that might align with the politics of the Trump administration.

It's not clear how many Afrikaners have applied for or been granted refugee status, but a U.S.-based South African business group has said it had a list of tens of thousands who had expressed interest.

U.S. officials and a document obtained by The Associated Press said a first group of more than two dozen Afrikaners from around four families will arrive Monday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

Associated Press writer Michelle Gumede in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

More news on South Africa: https://apnews.com/hub/south-africa

Dewet Ungerer, AfriForum coordinator, patrols a road during a neighborhood and farm security watch operation in the east of Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Alet Pretorius)

Members of Afriforum, a neighborhood and farm security group, assemble before a patrol in Bashewa area in the east of Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Alet Pretorius)

Members of Afriforum, a neighborhood and farm security group, assemble before a patrol in Bashewa area in the east of Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Alet Pretorius)

FILE - White South Africans demonstrate in support of U.S. President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)