The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to welcome a group of white South African migrants as early as Monday May 12, in a move that has drawn criticism from the South African government. The decision follows Trump’s public claims that the South African government is engaging in “racial discrimination” against its white minority.
In a statement issued on Friday, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) pushed back strongly against the claims and criticized Washington’s motives.
“It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy,”
the ministry said.
Officials further argued that the criteria for refugee status had not been met:
“We reiterate that allegations of discrimination are unfounded,”
it said.
“Moreover, even if there are allegations of discrimination, it is our view that these do not meet the threshold of persecution required under domestic and international refugee law.”
According to the ministry, Deputy Foreign Minister Alvin Botes has directly raised South Africa’s concerns with U.S. Ambassador Christopher Landau. Still, Pretoria noted that it will not prevent citizens from leaving the country if they choose to do so:
South Africa said it would “not block citizens who seek to depart the country from doing so.”
Resettlement Plans Move Ahead President Trump had initially suspended refugee admissions shortly after taking office in January 2025. However, a February 2025 executive order labeled Afrikaners as victims of “racial discrimination,” paving the way for their potential resettlement in the United States.
Following the order, reports surfaced that thousands of Afrikaners had contacted the U.S. embassy in Pretoria to explore the resettlement opportunity. U.S. investigative outlet The Lever quoted a government source stating that up to 1,000 Afrikaners may be resettled this year.
According to National Public Radio (NPR), a group of 54 Afrikaans-speaking South Africans is expected to arrive on Monday. The outlet cited three informed sources who indicated that senior officials from the Departments of State and Homeland Security are scheduled to attend a press conference at Dulles International Airport in Virginia to welcome the group.
A Diplomatic Rift Deepens
Tensions between Washington and Pretoria have escalated throughout the year over various political and policy differences. The situation worsened in March when the U.S. expelled South Africa’s ambassador, marking a significant low point in bilateral relations.
The latest flashpoint came in January, when South Africa’s Parliament passed a controversial land reform bill. President Trump sharply criticized the legislation, claiming it would authorize the state to seize farmland from white Afrikaners “without compensation.”
However, South African authorities have clarified that no land has been seized thus far. They assert that expropriation without compensation would be applied only in exceptional cases and after negotiations with landowners.
Elon Musk, a prominent figure within the Trump administration and a South African-born entrepreneur, is adding to the controversy. Musk has accused the South African government of orchestrating a “genocide” against white farmers. Nonetheless, official crime statistics indicate that the majority of homicide victims in the country are young black men in urban areas.
White Afrikaners, who trace their ancestry to Dutch settlers arriving over 300 years ago, currently make up the majority of South Africa’s 7.3 percent white population. Under the apartheid system, which Afrikaner-led governments enforced until 1994the black majority was denied political and economic rights for decades.
