The US government cited an "unforeseen emergency" in South Africa as the reason the refugee program would be expanded. However, only white minority South Africans — who are allegedly being persecuted on racial grounds in their country — would be granted refugee status. TheTrump administration has repeatedly claimed that there is an ongoing genocide against white Afrikaners , allegations the South African government strongly denies.
Experts also say there is no statistical evidence of increased crime targeting white farmers.
For Oscar van Heerden, a research fellow at the Center for African Diplomacy and Leadership at the University of Johannesburg, this is based on a distorted understanding intended to "undermine South Africa's moral authority on the international stage — by equating South Africa with the State of Israel."US to prioritize white South African refugeesTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Since the start of the war in Gaza, South Africa has been among Israel's harshest critics. In late 2023, Pretoria filed a lawsuit with theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague against the Israeli government over allegations of genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza.
