Cape Town – The US embassy in South Africa has confirmed that President Donald Trump’s asylum offer is now officially open to South African minorities — specifically Afrikaners and others who feel persecuted or fear future persecution.
“Consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order 14204 Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa, the US Department of State is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security and implementing partners to consider eligibility for US refugee resettlement for Afrikaners and disfavored minorities in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” the embassy said on its website.
To qualify for resettlement consideration under this programme, applicants must be South African nationals, belong to a racial minority (such as Afrikaners), and demonstrate past or potential future persecution.
ALSO READ | WATCH | Ramaphosa: We never chased out colonisers – so why flee now?
The initiative has drawn criticism.
Critics argue that prioritising Afrikaners contradicts the Trump administration’s general refugee ban and its resistance to resettle other approved refugees.
Legal and humanitarian groups have accused the US of fast-tracking this specific group while sidelining others with more urgent resettlement needs.
Meanwhile, the South African government disputes the narrative of persecution.
Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Monday, President Ramaphosa firmly stated that the migrants in question do not meet the international standards required for refugee status.
[WATCH] President Cyril Ramaphosa says he has spoken to his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, about South African policies in relation to transformation. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/yl3JbKVHU3
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 12, 2025
He added that he had a conversation with US President Donald Trump, during which he clarified that the information Trump had received was inaccurate.
Ramaphosa dismissed claims Afrikaners were being persecuted and said he recently told Trump what he is being told about their situation “is not true”.
“A refugee is someone who has to leave their country out of fear of political persecution, religious persecution, or economic persecution,” Ramaphosa said. “And they don’t fit that bill.”
“We’re the only country on the continent where the colonisers came to stay and we have never driven them out of our country, he added.
“I told him I would like to come and meet him so that we can discuss this matter further,” said Ramaphosa.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
