US slams visa restrictions on South Africa nationals, citing land seizures, racial policies

The United States has imposed visa restrictions on foreign nationals responsible for enabling uncompensated land seizures, discrimination and incitement of violence against minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.

Relying on Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Trump administration announced the restriction, saying it took the decision following racially motivated crime, government-sponsored discrimination and policies affecting Afrikaaners and other minority populations in South Africa.

The United States accused the South African government of failing to address concerns previously raised by Washington.

“As stated in President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14204, ‘Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa,’ the United States remains gravely concerned about racially motivated crime and government-sponsored discrimination occurring against the Afrikaners and other minority populations in South Africa, including race-based discriminatory legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation, and incitement of racial violence through dehumanising chants and slogans,” the US government said.

“The South African government has not adequately addressed the previously laid out concerns and so today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act targeting foreign nationals who are responsible for, or complicit in, the enactment or implementation of laws or policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, and/or the incitement of imminent violence against members of minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa,” the announcement said.

“The United States will not allow such behaviour to go unchecked,” it added.

Washington said the latest policies and actions it identified “directly undermine peace, economic stability, and the rule of law” and are “incompatible with the pillars of America’s foreign policy.”

The US also renewed its call on Pretoria to address the issues.

“We once again strongly urge the South African government to quickly address these egregious actions,” the administration said.

The visa restrictions are being imposed pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorises the Secretary of State to render inadmissible any foreign national whose entry into the United States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

The US government also warned that the restrictions could extend to some relatives of affected individuals.

“Certain family members may also be covered by these restrictions,” it said.

The new restrictions come amid broader tensions between the Trump administration and the South African government over land reform, race-based economic policies and allegations of violence and discrimination against white South Africans.

According to the Daily Caller, the US State Department had outlined a series of concerns it said South Africa needed to address.

Among them were South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment policies, which US officials said lacked exemptions for American companies, as well as what Washington described as insufficient condemnation by senior South African government officials of racially charged rhetoric, including the controversial “Kill the Boer” chant.

The State Department also faulted Pretoria over South Africa’s Expropriation Act of 2024, warning against measures that could permit the seizure of property without what it termed fair compensation and due process.

The US administration’s concerns are also linked to Executive Order 14204, “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa,” through which President Donald Trump previously directed US policy in response to what his administration described as discriminatory actions by the South African government.

As part of the wider dispute, the Trump administration has also announced an end to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, in South Africa.

The administration argued that South Africa had failed to address what Washington described as violence, discrimination and displacement affecting white South Africans.

The PEPFAR decision adds a major health and development dimension to the growing diplomatic disagreement, as the programme has for years supported HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and related health services in South Africa.

The Daily Caller reported that the State Department’s concerns went beyond land expropriation, including the treatment of American businesses under South Africa’s economic empowerment framework and the South African government’s response to racially charged rhetoric.

The Trump administration has maintained that its measures are aimed at pressuring Pretoria to address policies that Washington considers discriminatory and harmful to minority groups.

South Africa, however, has continued to defend its land and economic transformation policies within the context of the country’s history of apartheid and the persistent inequalities in land ownership and economic opportunity.

The latest visa restrictions therefore represent another step in the Trump administration’s broader policy toward South Africa, following earlier actions involving aid, refugee policy and diplomatic pressure.