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US to bar some South Africans over claims of anti-white discrimination
Confirmed
In Short: The US has announced new visa restrictions targeting South Africans accused of promoting racial discrimination or enabling land confiscation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new visa restrictions on South Africans on Tuesday, targeting those who promote race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa. The move comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and South Africa, with the US leader cutting aid and offering refuge to white South Africans. The South African government has rejected claims of persecution against white citizens.
The restrictions, according to US officials, are aimed at individuals responsible for or involved in implementing laws that allow uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, or the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups. US officials have long criticized South Africa's post-apartheid racial justice policies, with President Donald Trump previously berating South African leaders over discredited claims of a 'white genocide.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for international efforts to counter false claims about the persecution of white South Africans, while the government maintains there is no evidence of systematic discrimination against white citizens. The US has imposed these restrictions in response to what it describes as racially motivated crime and government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners and other minority groups.
According to reports, the US is concerned about race-based legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation, and the incitement of racial violence through dehumanizing chants and slogans. The South African government has repeatedly rejected these allegations, stating that narratives of white persecution undermine the country's post-apartheid unity, sovereignty, and diplomatic relations.
What's confirmed
- He said the visa restrictions would target those who promote "race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa." Rubio did not immediately name any individuals targeted by the restrictions.
- Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?
- The order said the US was “gravely concerned” about what it described as racially motivated crime and government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners and other minority groups, citing race-based legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation and the incitement of racial violence through “dehumanising chants and slogans”.
- Relations between the two countries have been on a downward spiral since President Donald Trump returned to office early last year, with the US leader cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador and offering "refuge" to white South Africans fleeing "persecution." The South African government has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is persecuting white people or confiscating their land.
What's still developing
- White South Africans typically have 20 times the wealth of Black people, according to a 2023 article in the Review of Political Economy, an economic journal.
- Ties between the two nations have nosedived since Trump took office last year, with the US leader cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador and offering "refuge" to white South Africans fleeing "persecution". While the US president has broadly cracked down on immigration, he launched a special program under which thousands of Afrikaners have been allowed to settle in the United States. South Africa said last month it would offer a "generous" new trade deal to the United States as it seeks to avoid hefty tariffs that threaten job losses on top of a dire unemployment crisis.