America First Refugee Aid Nearly Doubles For The Refugees America Is Still Admitting

WASHINGTON—The administration plans to nearly double initial federal support for newly arrived refugees to as much as $4,500 per person on October 1, just as South Africans of European descent make up more than 99 percent of the refugees the United States is admitting.

The benefit is formally available to any incoming refugee. That universal language carries unusual precision this year because President Donald Trump froze most refugee admissions after returning to office, then created a priority route for Afrikaners he said faced government-sponsored racial discrimination in South Africa. A policy can be colorblind once the arrivals list has been prepared.

The aid, up from about $2,400, goes to resettlement organizations for housing, food and other basic needs. Any money left over is given to the refugee in cash. The new ceiling would add $2,100 per person to the initial support available today, according to people familiar with the change.

The administration says Afrikaners need protection from discriminatory land policy and violence. South Africa’s government rejects the persecution claim, and its land law does not single out white owners for confiscation. The White House nevertheless halted aid to South Africa while directing American agencies to fund the resettlement of selected South Africans, allowing foreign assistance to return home by way of Dulles.

The refugee office at the Department of Health and Human Services did not comment on the increase. The government has still achieved a clean policy result: fewer refugees, more money per refugee and no difficult arithmetic about who is expected to receive it.