The South African government has sharply criticised the United States for its controversial plan to prioritise refugee applications from white Afrikaners, describing the move as “misguided” and based on false claims of a “white genocide.”
According to reports, the backlash follows a decision by the Trump administration to create a special refugee category for white Afrikaners while reducing the overall refugee cap to just 7,500 people — the lowest in U.S. history.
In a strongly worded statement, South Africa’s Department of International Relations said there is “no credible evidence” that white citizens are being systematically targeted. “The limited number of white South African Afrikaners signing up to relocate to the US is clear evidence that they are not being persecuted,” the statement read.
The government also referenced an open letter from several prominent Afrikaners rejecting the U.S. narrative as “politically motivated” and “racially divisive.” The statement accused Washington of weaponising misinformation to fuel racial tensions and undermine South Africa’s sovereignty.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration further criticised the U.S. for reviving an old narrative rooted in Trump’s opposition to land reform policies, which allow land expropriation without compensation in special cases. Officials in Pretoria said using violent crime statistics to justify racialised asylum policies is “deeply irresponsible.”
According to Reuters, the controversy intensified after Trump allegedly presented a misleading image during a May 2025 Oval Office meeting with Ramaphosa. The photo, which Trump claimed showed “murdered white farmers,” was later verified to have originated from the Democratic Republic of Congo years earlier.
Washington has since refused to comment on the photo error, but sources confirmed that the White House’s video presentation also contained clips unrelated to South Africa.
South Africa concluded its statement by reaffirming its commitment to protecting all citizens regardless of race. “This narrative of white persecution is a manufactured myth,” officials said. “We call on the United States to avoid importing falsehoods into its foreign policy decisions.”
The diplomatic spat has added further strain to U.S.–South Africa relations, already tense over differing views on race, migration, and global security.
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