Johannesburg — President Trump doubled down Friday on his offer to grant U.S. citizenship to White Afrikaner farmers in South Africa, accusing their government of treating them “terribly.” Mr. Trump said the U.S. would offer them “safety” and that they would be given a “rapid pathway to citizenship.”
Mr. Trump had previously pointed to new land expropriation laws in South Africa that he claims are racist and a breach of the White farmers’ human rights. In reaction to the laws, he has halted all foreign aid to South Africa.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been cool for several years, since then-U.S. Ambassador Reuben Brigety, during a May 2023 news conference, accused South Africa of loading weapons onto a U.S.-sanctioned Russian ship in Simon’s Town harbor which then sailed back to Russia, where the weapons were allegedly used to help in the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Trump’s offer of “safe refuge” for Afrikaner farmers
That tension has been exacerbated by South Africa’s case at the International Criminal Court, where it has accused close U.S. ally Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
In a Friday post on his own Truth social platform, Mr. Trump once again offered “safe refuge” to Afrikaner farmers who feel unsafe in South Africa. That came after, on Feb. 7, Mr. Trump signed an executive order accusing the South African government of adopting racist laws that discriminate against Afrikaners, an ethnic group made up primarily of the descendants of Dutch settlers who started arriving in the country hundreds of years ago and now amount to about 13% of the population.
He specifically called out a law that was passed to allow the government expropriation of some privately owned land without compensation.
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South Africa’s government hit back at the time, saying the law pertained to unused land or land that was not serving the public interest. Mr. Trump ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prioritize the resettlement program in the U.S. for Afrikaners who feel they have been the victims of racial discrimination. He also cut off all aid and assistance to South Africa for as long as the land expropriation law remains on the books.
What do Afrikaner farmers actually want?
Talk shows and editorials in South Africa buzzed with talk of Mr. Trump’s executive order, and the possibility of even more U.S. sanctions. Many South Africans who’ve called into such shows have voiced confusion, as it seems there’s little interest in an offer of asylum in the U.S. — even among the leaders of the Afrikaans groups who have appealed to Mr. Trump for help.
“I think we the Afrikaners have been treated as a scapegoat and punching bag in this country for three decades, with political leaders chanting on stage at political rallies ‘kill the boer,’ so we are very grateful for someone like President Trump to acknowledge the 144 race laws in South Africa,” Ernest Roets, former head of policy at the Afrikaans organization Solidarity Movement, told CBS News.
He added, however, that he and many other Afrikaner leaders do not want to leave the country, and do not necessarily support the blanket sanctions being imposed by the Trump administration. He said there should be targeted sanctions against “specific leaders” who act against the South Africa’s constitution “by discriminating against the Afrikaner with racist laws.”
South Africa’s News24 reported over the weekend that members of the Solidarity group had travelled to the U.S. over the past two weeks and met with Michael Needham, a chief adviser to Rubio, as well as senior advisers to both President Trump and Vice President JD Vance and members of the U.S. Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Flip Buys, who chairs the Solidarity Movement and who was among those to visit Washington, told News 24 that the possibility of targeted U.S. sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, which would require a determination of serious human rights violations, was discussed at the meetings.
It’s expected that a small number of farmers would take Mr. Trump up on his offer, but most say that while their rights and safety need to be protected, they want to stay on the land their families have farmed for, in many cases, generations.
South Africa rejects Elon Musk’s complaint over Starlink
Mr. Trump’s close adviser Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and still holds dual nationality, took to his X platform Friday and criticized the government in Pretoria, claiming his Starlink satellite network was “not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I’m not black.”
South Africa’s Electronic Communications Act, which, since 2005 has regulated broadcasting and telecommunications in the post-Apartheid country, requires that at least 30% of a company must be owned by previously disadvantaged groups as part of the criteria to gain a communications license. News24 reports that, as of Friday, Starlink had not applied for a license to operate in the country.
Clayson Monyela, the head of public diplomacy for the South African government’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, replied to Musk on X, saying: “Sir that’s NOT true, and you know it! It’s got nothing to do with skin color.”
“Starlink is welcome to operate in South Africa,” Monyela said, “provided there’s compliance with local laws.”
Some South African government officials have told CBS News they expect they could be targeted with specific U.S. sanctions.
There is also some concern that Mr. Trump will scrap the Africa Growth Opportunity Act, a trade agreement between the U.S. and 32 African countries that took effect in 2000.
Multiple officials said there are already plans to draft a replacement trade and energy pact, with the hope that the White House can be convinced to consider a new deal.
