South Africa Rejected The U.S. Allegations, Saying Its Land And Affirmative-Action Policies Seek To Address Racial Inequalities Created Under Apartheid And Colonial Rule
The Trump administration has imposed new visa restrictions on certain South African nationals, escalating an already tense dispute between Washington and Pretoria over race, land reform and South Africa’s domestic policies.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the restrictions this week, saying the United States would target foreign nationals it determines are responsible for or complicit in policies that discriminate against white South Africans and other minority groups. The restrictions could include denying or revoking U.S. visas. No specific individuals were publicly named when the policy was announced.
The administration said the policy could apply to people connected to what it described as uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination or incitement of violence against racial or ethnic minorities.
“The United States will not allow such behavior to go unchecked,” Rubio said in announcing the policy, according to the Associated Press.
South Africa Rejects U.S. Claims
South Africa has pushed back sharply against the administration’s characterization of its policies.
South African officials say laws addressing land ownership, employment and economic participation are intended to confront inequalities created during decades of apartheid and centuries of colonial rule, not to persecute white South Africans. Pretoria has also rejected claims that white South Africans face systemic government persecution.
Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola defended South Africa’s right to develop its own domestic policies and said relations between countries should be based on respect for national sovereignty.
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“We expect that the same respect will be accorded to the people of South Africa, as the principle of sovereignty requires,” Lamola said.
The dispute centers in part on South Africa’s efforts to address the racial distribution of land and wealth that followed apartheid, the system of legally enforced racial segregation that ended in the 1990s.
U.S.-South Africa Tensions Continue To Grow
The visa restrictions are the latest development in a broader deterioration of U.S.-South Africa relations.
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized South Africa’s land-reform and affirmative-action policies and has cited violent crimes involving white farmers as evidence supporting its concerns. South Africa disputes the administration’s broader claims of racially motivated systemic persecution.
Washington has also clashed with Pretoria over South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice. The Trump administration has taken several other steps against South Africa, including reductions in U.S. assistance and restrictions on the country’s participation in some diplomatic forums.
The tensions were on public display when President Donald Trump met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in May 2025. During that meeting, Trump confronted Ramaphosa with material he said demonstrated violence and discrimination against white South Africans. Ramaphosa rejected claims that a genocide was occurring and said violent crime affects South Africans across racial groups.
The latest restrictions could be followed by additional U.S. measures, according to American officials. South Africa, meanwhile, has said it intends to continue diplomatic engagement with Washington despite the dispute.
