In a striking departure from its otherwise closed-door refugee policy, the Trump administration has reserved 17,500 resettlement slots for White Afrikaners from South Africa, formalizing a practice already underway and projecting a $500 million investment. The administration frames the move as a response to racial persecution — including land seizures and targeted violence — though South African officials and international observers dispute the characterization of genocide. The decision places the ancient question of who deserves refuge at the center of American immigration policy, revealing h