South Africa in trouble over 'discrimination against White people' as US makes fresh move
As @POTUS has made clear, the South African people are being failed by a government that is destroying its economy through an obsessive pursuit of racial grievance against the Afrikaner minority. The South African government has consistently failed to adequately address rural…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) September 15, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: The Trump administration on Tuesday, September 15, imposed sanctions on South Africa over what it calls racial discrimination against white people.
Trump administration has claimed that White people, especially the Afrikaner group, are being discriminated against by the South African government.
South African officials' travel banned over alleged discrimination
US has claimed that the African National Congress (ANC) led government was discriminating against White residents and other minority groups, prompting a travel ban on officials it claims are responsible for discrimination.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, September 15, said that Washington will suspend visas and reject visa applications of foreign national officials found responsible for, or complicit in, enacting or enforcing laws and policies that allow uncompensated land seizures, racial discrimination, or provocation of violence against ethnic and racial minorities of South Africa.
"The United States will not allow such behavior to go unchecked," Rubio said in a statement. "These actions directly undermine peace, economic stability, and the rule of law, and they are incompatible with the pillars of America's foreign policy."
Rubio didn't identify any officials who would be targeted with the travel restrictions.
The US has pointed to a controversial South African law that allows unused private land to be taken without compensation in some cases.
It has also cited affirmative action policies that give more opportunities to Black people and others, along with a small number of violent crimes against White farmers, as evidence of a wider anti-White stance in South Africa.
South Africa rejects discrimination allegations
South Africa has rejected US-levelled allegations of discrimination against Whites, calling it baseless and a result of misinformation. The Trump administration accused South Africa of discriminating against White people last year after returning to the White House.
The South African foreign ministry on Wednesday expressed concern over US visa restrictions, adding that the claim aligns with "the mischaracterization of South Africa's domestic policies by fringe groups."
An advocacy group for minority White people in South Africa earlier urged the US administration to impose a travel ban on officials of the ANC, the party of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the largest in South Africa's Parliament.
South Africa's 62 million people include 4.5 million White people with roots in British and other heritage.
The Afrikaner group named by the Trump administration is descended mainly from Dutch and French colonial settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century.
