US announces visa curbs targeting South African nationals over 'race-based discrimination'

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced a new US visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals in South Africa involved in what the Trump administration describes as race-based discrimination, uncompensated land seizures and incitement of violence against minority groups.

Citing President Donald Trump, Rubio said in a statement that 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."

He said the South African government has "consistently" failed to adequately address rural crime, violent and dehumanising rhetoric, and race-based discriminatory policies against Afrikaners and other minority populations.

"Today, I'm announcing a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals who enact or enable policies that promote race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa.

"Those responsible for these injustices have no place in the United States," he added.

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

Sour ties

The US Department of State said in its press statement that "the United States will not allow such behaviour to go unchecked."

"These actions directly undermine peace, economic stability, and the rule of law, and they are incompatible with the pillars of America's foreign policy," the statement said.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria have soured since the start of President Donald Trump's second term, with the US president criticising the country for its policies aimed at addressing racial inequality.

While the US president has broadly cracked down on immigration, he launched a special programme under which thousands of white Afrikaners have been allowed to settle in the United States.

South Africa said last month it would offer a "generous" new trade deal to the United States as it seeks to avoid hefty tariffs that threaten job losses on top of a dire unemployment crisis.

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Source: TRT