Exclusive-South Africa will not interfere with US refugee program for white minority, email says

U.S. President Donald Trump hands over to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa copies of articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. and South African officials reached an ‌agreement during a closed-door meeting in late December to allow the U.S. to continue its controversial effort to bring white South Africans to the U.S. as refugees, an internal meeting summary reviewed by Reuters showed.

The meeting came after President ‌Donald Trump's signature refugee program was disrupted weeks earlier when South African authorities in an extraordinary move raided a U.S. refugee processing site in Johannesburg, arresting contractors and sparking backlash from Washington.