U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his stance against South Africa, announcing on Friday an “expedited pathway to citizenship” for South African farmers fleeing what he calls “terrible” treatment in their home country.
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed the South African government is “confiscating their LAND and FARMS, and MUCH WORSE THAN THAT,” offering no specific evidence to support his allegations.
The move builds on an executive order Trump signed last month, halting all federal aid to South Africa over property laws he labeled as imposing “unjust racial discrimination” against white Afrikaner farmers.
That order, issued in February, directed the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to prioritize the resettlement of Afrikaners—South Africa’s predominantly Dutch-descended white minority, comprising less than 7% of the nation’s population—through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
“To go a step further, any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa, seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety, will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship,” Trump wrote Friday.
“This process will begin immediately!” Details of the plan remain unclear, leaving questions about its scope and implementation.
South Africa’s government has fiercely rejected Trump’s portrayal, accusing him of distorting the intent of its new land expropriation law, which took effect in January.
Passed by the majority-Black country’s Parliament, the law aims to “redress the results of past racial discriminatory laws or practices,” including the legacies of apartheid and European colonialism.
Authorities insist no land has been seized, and the legislation is currently facing a legal challenge in court.
The dispute has drawn global attention, amplified by tech billionaire Elon Musk, a South African native and key Trump adviser.
Musk, who is white, has repeatedly criticized the land law on his platform X, claiming Friday that his company Starlink is barred from operating in South Africa “because I’m not Black.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who recently spoke with Musk amid the row, has stood defiant.
In a February address to Parliament, Ramaphosa declared, “We will not be bullied,” emphasizing South Africa’s sovereignty and unity in the face of U.S. pressure.
Trump’s latest offer has sparked debate over its implications, both for U.S. immigration policy and South Africa’s delicate post-apartheid land reform efforts.
Critics argue the president’s rhetoric echoes unproven narratives of widespread persecution against white farmers, while supporters see it as a bold stand against perceived injustice.
As the “immediate” resettlement process begins, the world watches to see how this transatlantic clash will unfold.
