President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa labeled white South Africans who relocated to the United States after being granted refugee status as “cowardly,” amid rising tensions between the two nations.
Ramaphosa stated, “They are running away” from their responsibility to assist in South Africa’s transformation and address its issues, emphasizing that “When you run away, you are a coward.”
Over 8,000 South Africans have shown interest in a U.S. program designed to create an expedited path for Afrikaners to resettle in America, despite the Trump administration's restrictions on most refugees from other nations.
If their applications are approved, they would join the group of individuals who arrived on a charter flight funded by the United States on Monday.
This program targeting Afrikaners has sparked significant discussion regarding post-apartheid race relations in South Africa. The South African government has firmly rejected the Trump administration's claim that Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that governed during apartheid, qualify for refugee status.
Ramaphosa asserted that Afrikaners “do not fit the definition of a refugee,” explaining that a refugee is defined as someone who must leave their country due to fear of political or religious persecution, which he argued does not apply to white individuals in South Africa.
Former President Trump has often propagated conspiracy theories regarding the treatment of white South Africans since the end of apartheid. He previously claimed in 2018 that he instructed his secretary of state to investigate the “large-scale killing of farmers,” a narrative he reiterated in his second term, stating that white farmers were “being brutally killed.”
Elon Musk, a South African-born billionaire and close adviser to Trump, echoed similar far-right conspiracy theories in 2023, alleging that there was an open push for genocide against white people in South Africa.
However, official data and South Africa’s largest farmers' organization contest such claims, with police statistics indicating that out of 225 people reported killed on farms between April 2020 and March 2024, only 53 were farmers, predominantly white, while around 100 were workers, mostly Black.
In February, Trump signed an executive order halting all foreign aid to South Africa, alleging mistreatment of white landowners. At the same time, his administration has made it extremely difficult for individuals from war-torn or famine-stricken countries, including Afghans and Congolese, to seek refuge in the United States, despite having been vetted and cleared prior to Trump’s presidency.
Conversely, the Trump administration processed the Afrikaners' applications in just three months, a notably swift turnaround for a procedure that typically takes years.
The decision to grant refugee status to Afrikaners has further strained relations between South Africa and the United States. South African officials have characterized the move as politically motivated, aimed at undermining the country, while the Trump administration has criticized South Africa for its close ties with Iran and its position on Israel.