US plans $335,000 research and ad push in South Africa after low Afrikaner refugee sign-ups, report says

US officials are weighing a $335,000 research and advertising campaign in South Africa after Afrikaner applications for US refugee resettlement came in below expectations.

The proposal, drafted in August, says applications “trended lower than expected” after Afrikaners were allowed to apply directly online in November 2025, and it lays out focus groups, a survey of roughly 1,000 Afrikaners and a six-month digital advertising push.

Sources reporting the proposal say the aim is to identify barriers or reasons for the shortfall and to encourage greater take-up of a resettlement route the administration has prioritised.

The initiative links to an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February 2025 that directed US officials to prioritise Afrikaner refugee resettlement; reporting says that order framed prioritisation as a response to alleged race-based discrimination and land-policy concerns in South Africa.

The administration also proposed increasing the Afrikaner-specific refugee admissions ceiling to 17,500 for 2026, up from a prior limit of 7,500, which officials say creates a need to boost applications if the higher ceiling is to be met.

Reporting differs in emphasis about how the programme is presented locally: one account notes the campaign would involve research tools such as focus groups and a survey to understand attitudes, while others highlight an outreach component — a six-month digital advertising campaign — designed to encourage applications.

A US State Department spokesperson told The Guardian that Washington continued to process and admit Afrikaners “who are escaping the threat of government-sponsored race-based discrimination,” a formulation that reflects the administration’s public justification for the prioritisation.

South African officials have rejected the characterisation that Afrikaners face a state-backed campaign of elimination; the South African government is cited as denying claims of 'white genocide' and saying land reform and race-based policies aim to address apartheid-era inequalities.

The proposal and coverage portray a policy that narrows broader refugee admissions while creating an Afrikaner-focused pathway, which critics and supporters in different outlets frame very differently.

The scope and cost of the proposed campaign are small relative to overall US refugee budgets but politically salient: it would use roughly $335,000 to research and try to boost uptake from a specific South African population that the administration has singled out.

The reporting does not show the campaign has been authorised or funded yet; it describes a State Department proposal under consideration and cites officials and documents as the basis for details about timing, methods and the administration’s public rationale.

Beyond the line items in the proposal, reporting does not provide independent verification of the survey design or the ad creative, and it does not include public reaction from Afrikaner communities surveyed or from the US Congress about the earmarked amount.