South Africa has privately assured the United States that it will not interfere with Washington’s controversial refugee programme for white South Africans, even as Pretoria continues to publicly reject the basis for the initiative, diplomatic sources and government statements show. Officials from the two countries reached the quiet understanding during a closed‑door meeting in late December 2025, after tensions flared over previous disputes involving the programme.
The U.S. effort, spearheaded under President Donald Trump’s administration, aims to offer refugee status to white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, whom Washington claims are victims of race‑based persecution. While the programme has been paused in broader refugee admissions, the Afrikaner resettlement plan was allowed to continue, with more arrivals reported in December than in any earlier month, and higher numbers expected in January.
At the December meeting, South African diplomats, including deputy minister Alvin Botes and acting chief director for North America Thabo Thage, told U.S. diplomats that South Africa would not try to derail or block the refugee admissions programme, even if it strongly disagrees with how the matter has been framed. “We may not agree with the classification of certain South Africans as facing possible genocide, but their right to move to a destination of their choice is guaranteed and the government of South Africa won’t interfere,” the meeting summary quoted Thage as saying.
The agreement followed a highly public dispute in December when authorities raided a site in Johannesburg where U.S. refugee staff and contractors were processing cases for people headed to the United States. Seven Kenyan contractors working at the centre were arrested for allegedly violating their visa conditions, and two U.S. officials were briefly detained, prompting a diplomatic backlash from Washington. U.S. officials described the arrests as “unacceptable harassment,” while South African authorities said the operation was a straightforward immigration enforcement action, not a political message.
Although Pretoria did not block the programme, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has reiterated its objections to the very premise of the refugee offer. It has labelled the idea that Afrikaners are subject to racial persecution as “factually inaccurate” and “fundamentally flawed,” rejecting claims of a so‑called “white genocide” that have circulated in some U.S. political discourse. DIRCO emphasised that many prominent Afrikaner community members themselves have publicly rejected those narratives, and cautioned against conflating voluntary migration with formal refugee asylum status under international law.
South Africa’s stance reflects broader diplomatic sensitivities. The refugee programme has drawn sharp criticism both at home and abroad, with opponents arguing that it prioritises one demographic group over other refugees, contravenes principles of universal protection, and misrepresents conditions in South Africa. Independent observers note that white South Africans, who make up a small percentage of the population but still hold significant economic assets and land, do not face systematic state‑sponsored violence, and that farm attacks and crime issues affect all communities.
Despite these concerns, South Africa and the U.S. have worked to de‑escalate tensions in recent months, recognising the importance of maintaining a broader strategic relationship while managing disputes over immigration policy and contrasting narratives about internal socio‑political dynamics.
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