Trump admin imposes new visa restrictions over alleged racial discrimination, land seizures in South Africa

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The Trump administration announced new visa restrictions Tuesday targeting foreign nationals in South Africa who it says are responsible for race-based discrimination, uncompensated land seizures or inciting imminent violence against racial and ethnic minorities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy under a provision of federal immigration law allowing him to deem foreign nationals inadmissible when their entry into the U.S. could have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.

The restrictions will target foreign nationals who are responsible for, or complicit in, enacting or implementing laws or policies that the State Department says enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination or the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.

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President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

Rubio sharpened the administration’s criticism of the South African government in a post on X announcing the restrictions Tuesday.

“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,” Rubio wrote.

Rubio accused South Africa‘s government of failing to adequately address rural crime, what he described as “violent and dehumanizing rhetoric,” and discriminatory policies targeting Afrikaners and other minority groups.

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“Those responsible for these injustices have no place in the United States,” Rubio wrote.

Family members may also be subject to the restrictions, according to the State Department.

The announcement marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s dispute with the South African government over its treatment of Afrikaners and other minority populations.

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 directing federal agencies to halt aid to South Africa to the extent permitted by law and directing the State and Homeland Security departments to prioritize humanitarian relief for Afrikaners who the administration says are victims of racial discrimination.

The order specifically cited South Africa’s Expropriation Act and accused the government of enabling the seizure of Afrikaner agricultural property without compensation, along with pursuing other discriminatory policies.