US President Donald Trump’s recent executive order offering refugee status to white South Africans fleeing alleged persecution has sparked debate, but it may not trigger the large-scale emigration he expects. Even right-wing Afrikaner lobby groups insist on addressing what they see as injustices under South Africa’s Black-majority rule rather than seeking refuge abroad.
Trump’s order, signed Friday, also directs cuts in US aid to South Africa, citing the expropriation law signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month as justification. The law seeks to address longstanding race-based land disparities by facilitating state expropriation of land in the public interest. Included under his order is a provision for “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination” to resettle in the US.
Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch and French settlers, still own the majority of South Africa’s farmland. However, many within the community see little reason to leave. “There hasn’t been any real land takeovers; life continues as normal,” said Neville van der Merwe, a 78-year-old pensioner from Bothasig, near Cape Town.
White South Africans represent approximately 7.2 percent of South Africa’s population, with around 63 million, and still control most land. The policy tries to restore equity in the country in matters related to the ownership of land because during South Africa’s colonization and apartheid years, millions of Black South Africans were forcibly stripped off their lands.
AfriForum, an Afrikaner advocacy group that previously lobbied Trump’s administration, rejected the resettlement offer. “Emigration would mean sacrificing our cultural identity. The price is simply too high,” said AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel.
The African National Congress (ANC) has accused Trump of amplifying misinformation from groups like AfriForum, arguing that his stance misrepresents South Africa’s land reforms. Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has defended the expropriation law, stating that it is essential for economic justice and land redistribution.