Faith Nyasuguta
Nearly 70,000 South Africans have shown interest in seeking asylum in the United States following Washington’s offer to resettle members of the country’s Afrikaner community, according to the South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA (Saccusa).
Saccusa reported that its website received tens of thousands of registrations from people seeking more information about potential resettlement. The surge in interest comes after a February executive order from President Donald Trump, which declared that Afrikaners, the descendants of mainly Dutch settlers who arrived in the 17th century, could qualify as refugees, citing “unjust racial discrimination” as grounds for asylum.
Relations between the U.S. and South Africa have grown increasingly tense since Trump assumed office in January. The U.S.-based business group described the registrations as a “pivotal step” and confirmed that it had handed the list of interested individuals to the U.S. embassy in Pretoria. An embassy official verified the receipt of the list.
Of the 67,042 registrants, most had Afrikaner or English surnames, Saccusa President Neil Diamond revealed. He added that the majority of those expressing interest in moving to the U.S. were between the ages of 25 and 45, often with two or three dependants.
Though not a governmental organization, Saccusa became involved in registering potential asylum seekers after being overwhelmed with inquiries regarding Trump’s resettlement offer, Diamond told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
Some white South Africans claim they face discrimination, a narrative that has found support among right-wing groups in the U.S. However, the broader context reveals that South Africa’s white minority still owns the majority of privately held land and wealth in the country, despite the formal end of apartheid over 30 years ago.
Tensions between the two nations escalated in January when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill permitting the state to seize land without compensation if deemed in the “public interest.” This legislation followed years of calls for land reform aimed at redistributing farmland from white landowners.
Trump responded to the law by signing the executive order offering refugee status to Afrikaners allegedly “escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination.” In March, he expanded the invitation to include all South African farmers, describing South Africa as “a bad place to be right now.”
Further inflaming relations, Trump cut aid to South Africa last month. Ramaphosa defended the land reform measures, insisting that no land had been seized and that the new law ensured “public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.”
The diplomatic rift widened last week when the U.S. expelled South Africa’s ambassador to Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the ambassador as a “race-baiting politician,” deepening the strain between the two countries. As political tensions rise, the future of U.S.-South African relations remains uncertain.
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