US Announces Visa Curbs Targeting South Africans Over Race And Land Policies
The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting certain South African nationals whom Washington accuses of enabling race-based discrimination, uncompensated land seizures and the incitement of violence against minority groups.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures on Tuesday, saying they would apply to foreign nationals responsible for, or complicit in, the enactment or implementation of policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination or the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.
The restrictions were imposed under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act. Family members of affected individuals may also be subject to the restrictions. No specific individuals were named in the announcement.
Rubio linked the move to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14204 and accused the South African government of failing to address US concerns over what Washington describes as government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners and other minorities.
The US has also raised concerns over South Africa’s race-based legislation, land expropriation policies and political slogans that it says could incite violence.
The latest move adds to growing tensions between Washington and Pretoria. The Trump administration has previously cut aid to South Africa, expelled the country’s ambassador to the US and criticised its land reform policies and foreign-policy positions.
South Africa has rejected allegations of systematic persecution of white people and has defended its policies as efforts to address inequalities created by apartheid.
Pretoria has also maintained that land expropriation without compensation is subject to legal safeguards and does not amount to arbitrary seizure.
The new policy is not a blanket visa ban on South Africans. It specifically targets foreign nationals whom the US determines fall within the categories outlined by the State Department.
The visa restrictions come as relations between South Africa and the US remain strained over land reform, racial policies and Pretoria’s international positions, including its legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
