Almost 70,000 South Africans have expressed a desire to move to the United States following an initiative by Washington to assist members of the Afrikaner community in relocating, as reported by a business organization.
The South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA (Saccusa) indicated that its website experienced a surge in registrations from individuals seeking further information about the resettlement program.
In an executive order issued in February, President Donald Trump declared that Afrikaners—descendants of mainly Dutch settlers from the 17th century—are eligible for refugee status due to being “victims of unjust racial discrimination.”
Since Trump assumed office in January, diplomatic relations between the US and South Africa have soured.
Saccusa characterized the submission of the registration list to the US embassy in Pretoria as a “significant milestone.” An embassy representative confirmed to the BBC that they had received the document.
According to Saccusa’s president, Neil Diamond, a total of 67,042 individuals registered, with most having Afrikaner or English surnames. The organization noted that the majority of applicants were aged between 25 and 45 and typically had two to three dependents.
Saccusa, which advocates for South African businesspeople living in the US, is not a government entity but became involved in the registration process due to a surge of inquiries regarding the resettlement initiative, as stated by Diamond in an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
While some white South Africans assert that they are facing discrimination, their claims have gained support among right-wing factions in the US. Nevertheless, over thirty years after the end of apartheid, the white minority in South Africa still holds a significant portion of the country’s private land and wealth.
Tensions between Pretoria and Washington escalated in January when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa enacted laws allowing land expropriation without compensation in situations deemed to be in the “public interest.”
This legislation emerged in response to persistent calls for land redistribution, with activists and political figures advocating for the transfer of agricultural land from white landowners to Black South Africans.
In response, Trump issued an executive order that granted refugee status to Afrikaners, claiming they were subjected to “state-sanctioned racial discrimination.”
By March, Trump expanded this offer to encompass all South African farmers, labeling the country as “a perilous environment for them.” The following month, he reduced financial assistance to South Africa.
Ramaphosa countered Trump’s statements, emphasizing that no land had been seized and that the new law was designed to ensure “fair and just access to land in line with the constitution.”
Nevertheless, tensions in diplomatic relations have intensified. Recently, Washington expelled South Africa’s ambassador, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denouncing him as a “race-baiting politician.”
