Two waves of white South African refugees have arrived in the United States under a Trump-era program granting asylum to Afrikaners claiming racial persecution. With 59 resettled in Virginia and a second group just landed in Atlanta, the policy — criticized as racially selective — has sparked widespread debate amid a broader freeze on refugee admissions.

Now, with South African native Elon Musk’s fallout with President Donald Trump and winding up his service with DOGE, the question arises: what becomes of the movement advocating for white South Africans seeking refugee status?

A spokesperson for the United States State Department tells the New York Sun that the Department “is prioritizing U.S. refugee resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.”

“The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria continues to review inquiries from individuals who have expressed interest to the Embassy in resettling to the United States and is reaching out to eligible individuals for refugee interviews and processing,” the representative continued. 

“Like all others resettled through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, Afrikaners must meet the U.S. statutory definition of a refugee and (have) passed medical examinations and background and security checks.”

Other international observers, however, aren’t convinced that the matter has “staying power.”

“I do not believe that the narrative of white South Africans as an extraordinarily persecuted class has staying power with or without the presence of Elon Musk in the U.S. administration,” global risk analyst and foreign policy researcher Dennis Santiago tells the Sun. “It’s the wrong high horse to ride for U.S. national interest when it comes to our global influence and power projection posture.”

Musk’s Symbolic Role

Mr. Musk, himself born in South Africa, has long accused the government of President Ramaphosa of having “racist ownership laws” and failing to stop a “genocide,” a characterization Mr. Trump frequently uses, against white farmers.

The issue hit global headlines in 2018 when Mr. Trump tweeted that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate farm seizures and the “large-scale killing of farmers” in South Africa — a claim heavily contested by local and international analysts. 

Earlier this year, Mr. Ramaphosa signed into law the Expropriation Act, which permits the seizure of private land without compensation. Although no such actions have taken place, the South African government maintains that the legislation is not about race but justice, insisting that the law won’t be applied arbitrarily or without public interest.

Last month, not long after the first wave of white South Africans arrived on American soil, tensions began to rise between Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump. The Space X founder criticized the administration’s sweeping budget bill, labeling it “the Debt Slavery Bill,” and distanced himself from GOP leadership. 

The president responded by accusing his once-close advisor of falling into “Trump derangement syndrome” and hinting that federal contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies — especially Starlink and SpaceX — could be reviewed or suspended. From there, the feud descended into personal finger-pointing but has quieted down more recently with Mr. Musk apologizing for some of his comments. 

Some observers, subsequently, have begun to question whether the advocacy movement for South African white farmers has now lost one of its most powerful cultural touchstones.

“The idea of white South Africans as a persecuted group is unlikely to last in international politics without a well-known figure like Elon Musk connected to it. This narrative has mostly stayed on the edges of political debate because it’s controversial, not widely supported by evidence, and often tied to far-right groups,” a former South African intelligence operator, Tony Schiena, tells the Sun. 

“Musk’s fame gives the topic visibility, even if he doesn’t directly support it. Without someone like him, the issue is likely to stay on the margins and not influence global politics in a serious way.”

A source connected to the administration, however, insists that while “there is always a possibility that Trump could pull their special status to get back at Elon if things get worse, that is doubtful.”

“He is very committed to this issue,” a source connected to the administration told the Sun. 

For those farmers who remain in South Africa, there is reason to be concerned.

According to the Solidarity Research Institute, an advocacy-oriented research group, the chances of a farmer being murdered on a farm in South Africa are four to six times higher than the average murder risk rate for the general population.

Farm attacks in South Africa have included victims being tortured, dragged behind vehicles, and hacked with machetes. 

Accurate statistics are difficult to confirm, but over the past three decades, violence against white commercial farmers in South Africa has been alarmingly high: the property rights group Transvaal Agricultural Union reports that over 1,000 have been murdered since 1990. In 2019 alone, there were 409 farm attacks and 56 farm murders. 

More recently, the Afrikaner minority rights-focused AfriForum’s 2023-2024 figures recorded 296 attacks and 49 murders — an average of nearly one killing per week. While the South African government insists these attacks are random acts of violence in a country with soaring crime rates, many — including Trump and his allies — believe the patterns suggest something more deliberate.

The past decade has also seen a rise in white South Africans seeking asylum in countries like Canada, Australia, and the United States, though approval rates remain low. 

According to Mr. Schiena, “white South Africans face tough challenges when trying to get asylum in the U.S. or other Western countries.”

“Asylum laws are meant to protect people who are being targeted for things like their race, religion, or political beliefs, not those fleeing general crime or economic problems,” he explained. “While some white South Africans mention farm attacks or violence, these are usually seen as regular crime, not proof of racial persecution.”

Despite representing only 7.3 percent of the population, white South Africans own 73 percent of the nation’s private farmland. 

Looking Ahead

With Mr. Musk no longer serving in a high-profile role in government, the movement advocating for special recognition of white South Africans may face new challenges. Without a prominent figure to draw attention, it may struggle to maintain visibility in Mr. Trump’s eyes, especially in the larger immigration debate that has focused largely on Latinos.

“Although there was a time when the trend across the media was in support and advocacy for the white South African community, this trend was short-lived and fizzled out shortly after,” Mr. Schiena added. “Overall, it is too early to tell whether or not there is a shift in Trump’s political or policy advocacy.”