South Africa has issued a sharp rebuke to the United States following reports that Washington is preparing to receive white Afrikaners as refugees as early as next week, a move South African officials describe as “politically motivated” and designed to undermine the country’s “constitutional democracy.”
According to documents obtained by CBS News, the Trump administration has designated this resettlement as a “priority,” though the White House has not publicly confirmed the timing. The first group will reportedly consist of 54 Afrikaners, with a welcoming event planned for Monday at Dulles airport in Virginia.
Afrikaners trace their roots to primarily Dutch settlers who arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, later joined by French Huguenot and German immigrants. Over centuries, they developed a distinct cultural identity and language—Afrikaans—which evolved from Dutch with influences from indigenous African languages, Malay, and Portuguese.
The Great Trek of the 1830s saw Afrikaners (then known as Boers) move inland to establish independent republics, seeking freedom from British colonial rule. Their history includes the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), where thousands of Afrikaner women and children died in British concentration camps, an experience that deeply shaped their collective identity and later political consciousness.
In 1948, the National Party came to power and implemented apartheid, institutionalising racial segregation that privileged white South Africans. The system collapsed in the early 1990s, leading to the country’s first democratic elections in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became president.
Since the end of apartheid, some Afrikaner groups have raised concerns about what they term “reverse discrimination.” These claims center on several contentious issues:
Farm attacks have become particularly controversial, with some organisations like AfriForum claiming these violent crimes specifically target white farmers based on race. However, the South African government maintains that crime statistics do not support the assertion that any racial group is specifically targeted in violent crimes on farms, viewing these attacks as part of broader criminal activity affecting all South Africans.
Land reform remains another flashpoint. In 2018, South Africa’s parliament voted to pursue land expropriation without compensation to address historical dispossession, though implementation has been limited. The Trump administration has accused South Africa of seizing land from white farmers without compensation, allegations that Pretoria has repeatedly denied.
Employment equity policies designed to increase representation of previously disadvantaged groups have also generated tension, with some Afrikaners claiming systematic exclusion from economic opportunities.
In February, President Trump signed an executive order describing Afrikaners as victims of “racial discrimination,” creating a pathway for their resettlement in the United States. South Africa criticized this move, stating it was “ironic” that the US would accept “a group that remains amongst the most economically privileged” while restricting asylum for vulnerable people from other parts of the world.
In its latest statement, South Africa’s foreign ministry reiterated that allegations of discrimination against the country’s white minority are unfounded. While not blocking departures, South African authorities have requested assurances that those selected for resettlement have been fully vetted and do not have pending criminal charges.
Elon Musk, who grew up in South Africa during apartheid and now serves as a top adviser in the Trump administration, has been vocal in his criticism of the South African government, claiming it is leading a “genocide” against white farmers.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that they are interviewing individuals interested in resettlement and prioritising “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” though they did not specify when the process would begin.
This decision to accept South Africans as refugees comes as the Trump administration has effectively halted nearly all other migrant asylum claims, creating what critics see as a stark policy contradiction based on racial preferences rather than established refugee criteria.
As the situation develops, it highlights the complex intersection of historical grievances, contemporary politics, and the ongoing challenges of building an equitable post-apartheid society in South Africa.
