JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The South African government has strongly condemned a controversial U.S. plan to resettle white Afrikaners as refugees, calling it a politically charged move designed to challenge the legitimacy of the country’s post-apartheid democracy.
The backlash follows reports that the Biden administration may begin receiving white South African migrants as early as next week. Documents obtained by CBS, the BBC’s U.S. media partner, describe the resettlement of Afrikaners as a “priority” for President Donald Trump’s administration, though the White House has not officially confirmed the timeline.
In a statement issued Friday, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the U.S. effort is “entirely politically motivated” and appears to be aimed at undermining South Africa’s constitutional democracy. Authorities in Pretoria added that while they will not block the departures of those accepted into the program, they have requested firm assurances from Washington that the individuals selected have been fully vetted and face no outstanding criminal charges.
South Africa also rejected the notion that the country’s white minority is being subjected to systemic racial persecution. “Crime statistics do not support the claim that any particular racial group is being deliberately targeted in farm attacks or violent crimes,” the statement read.
The Trump administration has defended the move, citing allegations of racial discrimination against Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch settlers who have historically held economic and political power in South Africa. In a February executive order, Trump described the group as “victims of unjust racial discrimination” and opened the door for their admission under U.S. refugee protocols — despite a broader freeze on global asylum claims.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that they are conducting interviews with prospective migrants and are prioritizing those who claim to be victims of racial bias. However, the spokesperson declined to provide a start date for the resettlement.
Among those expected to arrive in the initial cohort are 54 Afrikaners, according to internal documents obtained by CBS. The group is expected to land at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday, where U.S. officials have reportedly scheduled a press event to mark the arrival.
The Trump administration has also repeatedly accused the South African government of forcibly seizing land from white farmers without compensation — a claim Pretoria has vigorously denied. Officials in Johannesburg maintain that any land reforms under discussion are lawful, measured, and intended to address long-standing disparities from the apartheid era.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a South African-born adviser to Trump, has amplified allegations of a “genocide” against white farmers in his former homeland. His statements, often echoed by far-right media outlets, have drawn sharp criticism from South African leaders.
South African officials again highlighted the irony of the Trump policy, noting the contradiction in prioritizing a historically privileged group while denying asylum to migrants from less affluent regions. “It is ironic that the U.S. is opening its doors to a group that remains among the most economically advantaged in our society,” the foreign ministry stated, “while refusing vulnerable asylum seekers from other parts of the world.”
