Diplomatic tensions are mounting as the United States moves forward with plans to welcome white South African refugees, a controversial policy revival under President Donald Trump.
The Trump-led administration’s move to receive white South African migrants comes ahead of South Africa’s upcoming chairmanship of the G20 summit later this year.
Recall U.S. President Donald Trump initiated efforts to resettle white South African farmers who were impacted by the country’s land reform laws.
The move, framed as a humanitarian response, followed claims that these farmers were facing discrimination and violence.
The initiative sparked controversy both domestically and internationally, with critics arguing it politicized South Africa’s complex land redistribution efforts and selectively framed the issue through a racial lens.
The United States government, as a result of the ‘contentious’ land reform law which allows the state to seize land without providing due compensation, had signed an executive order to freeze all aid to South Africa.
The White House condemned the act, arguing that the law constitutes discrimination against South Africa’s white minority population. “The South African government blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority Afrikaners,” it claimed.
President Trump and his advisor, Elon Musk, expressed concerns that hateful rhetoric and government policies fueled violence against certain landowners and undermined equal opportunities in employment, education, and business. Musk described this situation as a genocide against the white minority.
The new executive order includes a program to resettle Afrikaners who are victims of unjust racial discrimination as refugees, but it doesn’t specify when the resettlement will begin.
“The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take appropriate steps, consistent with law, to prioritize humanitarian relief,” the order said.
Notably, the order to accept South Africans as refugees comes as the Trump administration has stopped nearly all migrant asylum applications.
South Africa hits back at the U.S.
The South African government, through its Foreign Ministry, responded by describing the executive order and the US’ purported plan to take in Afrikaners as “politically motivated” and designed to undermine South Africa’s “constitutional democracy”. It added that allegations of discrimination against the country’s white minority were unfounded.
“It is of great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognize South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid,” it said.
In light of the Trump Administration’s executive order and policy on illegal immigrants, the statement noted that ‘it’s ironic that the executive order makes provisions for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains among the most economically privileged.
“This is while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship.” It stated.
The South African government reiterated its commitment to finding diplomatic solutions to any misunderstandings or disputes.
While they won’t block departures of those chosen for resettlement, they’ve requested assurances from the US that the selected individuals have been thoroughly vetted and don’t have pending criminal charges.
According to US media reports, “the first group of resettled Afrikaners will include 54 individuals.”
