The United States has announced a new visa restriction policy for South Africans amid continuing claims that the white, Afrikaner minority in the African country is suffering from "race-based discrimination."

US President Donald Trump's administration has ⁠criticized South Africa over a range of issues including land and employment laws that are meant to redress inequalities that Black people still face 30 years after the end of apartheid.

"As President Trump has made clear, the South African people are being failed by a government that is destroying its economy through an obsessive pursuit of racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed.

"The United States will not allow such behavior to go unchecked," Rubio said. "These actions directly undermine peace, economic stability, and the rule of law, and they are incompatible with the pillars of America's foreign policy."

The US ambassador ‌to South ⁠Africa ⁠said ​​on ​social media ‌on Wednesday that ‌the visa restrictions were "only the first ⁠step ​in ​a ​series of ‌escalatory measures."

Rubio did not name any individuals to be immediately affected by the restrictions but said they would target those who promote "race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa."

South Africa: Discrimination claims based on misinformation

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says there is no evidence of discrimination against white people in his country and has called for global efforts to debunk ⁠false ​stories about white persecution.

Nevertheless, the Trump administration has continued to attack South Africa.

In 2025, Trump berated President Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa. He has also hit the country with high tariffs, boycotted a G20 summit in Johannesburg and launched a special program allowing thousands of white Afrikaners to settle in the United States.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria have also nosedived over South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in which it accuses the US ally of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

South Africa's case against Israel has 'changed' minds

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Edited by: Natalie Muller