Trump South Africa visa restrictions and racial discrimination dispute
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Trump wants more Afrikaner refugees while other policies block asylum
A State Department spokesperson said US policy is prioritizing resettlement of Afrikaners escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination under E.O. 14204.
Mevlüde Akay Alp is a senior litigation attorney with the International Refugee Assistance Project.
The refugee cap determination was published on 25 September.
US officials consider ad campaign urging South African Afrikaners to emigrate
A February 2025 executive order directed officials to prioritize Afrikaner resettlement while the broader refugee program remained suspended.
Afrikaners were allowed to apply directly online for the US Refugee Admissions Program in November 2025.
A year before the most recent reporting, South Africans made up 342 of 38,102 refugee admissions to the US.
“South Africa has taken aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the International Court of Justice, and reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.”
Trump envoy criticizes South Africa
The ANC has hosted Hamas.
Bozell said there are billions of dollars in American investments ready for mining in South Africa but the race-based ownership requirements are blocking it.
A State Department spokesperson said the ball is in South Africa's court to outline the relationship it wants with the United States.
Claims of white genocide in South Africa examined
The Trump administration is planning to admit up to 17,500 additional white Afrikaners as refugees over the next 12 months, according to a notice sent to Congress on Tuesday.
An Afrikaner lobby group displayed thousands of white crosses on the National Mall in Washington DC, saying they represent victims of a genocide of white people in South Africa.
South Africa's ambassador to the US, Roelf Meyer, says the notion of a mass attack on the white Afrikaner minority in South Africa does not exist.
South African ambassador to US says white genocide does not exist
Meyer was one of the chief mediators to end apartheid in South Africa in the 1990s.
Police data shows the majority of victims of crime in South Africa, including on farms, are black.
The Trump administration is planning to admit up to 17,500 additional white Afrikaners as refugees over the next 12 months.
“It's a problem all around. It's not rural. It's not farm attacks only. If you look at the total picture, the huge levels of crime in the black townships of South Africa are the biggest concern, proportionally, far more than anything else.”
US limits visas for South African officials over alleged anti-white discrimination
The ruling African National Congress party has disavowed the chant 'Kill the Boer.'
South Africa introduced a law last year that allows the government to seize land without paying for it in specific circumstances, including if it is abandoned or only held for speculation.
The US barred South Africa from this year's G20 summit in Miami.
South Africa slams planned US visa curbs over alleged racial discrimination
South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola said South Africa remains committed to addressing challenges through constitutional institutions, democratic processes, and the rule of law.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that Washington would enact a new policy aimed at South Africans involved in what he called "race-based" discrimination against white Afrikaners.
Apartheid in South Africa persisted until 1994, when the country's first democratic elections brought Black Africans into power.
Trump admin imposes visa restrictions over alleged South Africa racial discrimination and land seizures
The executive order cited South Africa's Expropriation Act and accused the government of enabling the seizure of Afrikaner agricultural property without compensation.
The new restrictions are being imposed under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy under a provision of federal immigration law allowing him to deem foreign nationals inadmissible when their entry into the U.S. could have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.