U.S. Announces Visa Restrictions on South African Officials Over Race Discrimination

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday announced a new policy to impose visa restrictions on South African officials alleged to be involved in “race-based discrimination.”

“The United States remains gravely concerned about racially motivated crime and government-sponsored discrimination occurring against the Afrikaners and other minority populations in South Africa, including race-based discriminatory legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation, and incitement of racial violence through dehumanizing chants and slogans,” Rubio said in a statement.

The United States is imposing visa restrictions on foreign nationals involved in South African policies enabling uncompensated land seizures, racial discrimination, or incitement of violence against minorities, according to the statement. Afrikaners are a white ethnic group in South Africa, mainly descended from Dutch, French and German settlers who arrived at the Cape from the 17th century onward.

The Trump administration has accused the South African government of mistreating White South Africans, while the South African government rejected claims that it was confiscating land and “treating certain class of people very badly.”

In February 2025, shortly after beginning his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. government to facilitate the resettlement of Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees, citing alleged racial discrimination and persecution. (RSS)