Tensions between South Africa and the United States have escalated as the first group of white South African refugees, totaling 49 individuals, is set to arrive in the US. The group departed Johannesburg on Sunday and is expected to land in Washington, D.C., before continuing to Texas.

This resettlement follows former President Donald Trump's assertion that South Africa’s Afrikaner minority faces racial discrimination. South African officials have firmly rejected these claims. On Monday, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola stated that “there is no persecution of white Afrikaner South Africans,” and added that police data does not support allegations of targeted violence or discrimination.

South African authorities argue that such claims do not meet the criteria for refugee status under international or domestic law. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirmed it was not involved in the screening or selection of the group and had not been consulted.

Trump has been critical of South Africa’s domestic policies, particularly accusing the government of forcibly taking land from white farmers without compensation—an allegation South Africa denies. He has also raised concerns about violence on farms, pointing to what he called “large-scale killings of farmers.” However, official police statistics from 2024 record 44 farm-related murders, eight of which were farmers. While racial data is not recorded in these crime statistics, most farm owners are white, while the labor force is predominantly black.

Some of Trump’s claims have been echoed by South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has spoken of a so-called “genocide of white people” in South Africa. This notion has been widely discredited by experts and human rights organizations.

Prominent Afrikaner author Max du Preez criticized the refugee move, calling it “absurd” and politically motivated. He said the South African public was surprised by the announcement and suggested it was influenced more by American domestic politics than by conditions in South Africa.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have already been strained. In March, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled after accusing Trump of using “white victimhood as a dog whistle.” In response, the US accused Rasool of "race-baiting."

Further tensions have arisen over South Africa’s stance at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where it has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza—a charge strongly rejected by the Israeli government and criticized by the US.

Despite this new refugee policy for Afrikaners, the US continues to enforce strict immigration and asylum policies for other nationalities.

White South Africans represent approximately 7.3% of the population but, according to a 2017 government report, own the majority of privately held farmland.