South Africans have received special exceptions amid Trump’s crackdown on immigration, massive deportation and refugee restrictions from countries such as Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The 49 South Africans moved from Johannesburg to Washington, DC on May 11 after the US president signed an executive order granting the status of African refugees. The order, entitled “Take on the terrible actions of the South African Republic,” dubbed South Africa’s attempts to reform lands as “a shocking neglect of citizens’ rights,” and denounced the recently introduced expropriation law as part of countless government policies, “burning employment, business, and hate violence in government employment that fuels employment, education, business, and hate rhetoric.”
When asked by a reporter about the reasons behind Trump acknowledging the status of African refugees on Monday, the president said, “It’s a genocide that’s happening, and you don’t want to write about it. It’s a scary thing that’s happening.
The executive order also suspends foreign aid or assistance provided or provided to South Africa under the Expropriation Act, and is attributed to the South African massacre against Israel. The executive order argues that South Africa “reduced its offensive status against the United States and its allies” by “denounced Israel and not Hamas, not Hamas, rather than the International Court of Justice’s genocide.”
Granting refugee status to white South Africans of the African population comes after Trump cracked down on immigration in various ways, including halting resettlement of virtually all refugees in conflict-rich regions such as Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Trump also suspended his asylum through the US-Mexico border shortly after taking office. While halting the flow of refugees from these regions, the Trump administration continues to plunder resources, including pursuing transactions that govern the wealth of Congolese minerals.
Land expropriation is central to the right-wing African refugee programme
The latest move by the Trump administration is the land reform efforts in South Africa after apartheid. The South African expropriation law enacted on January 23, 2025 sparked debate both domestically and internationally, primarily to introduce the possibility of expropriating land from mostly white landowners of the country without compensation.
Read more: From colonial theft to agricultural justice: A long road to land reform in South Africa
The law is rooted in attempts to correct systemic confiscation of black South Africans during both the apartheid era and colonialism. Despite apartheid, which officially ended in 1994, the South African government’s 2017 Land Audit Report found that while white South Africans, who make up 7.3% of the population, own farms or agricultural ownership, Black South Africans, who make up 81.4% of the population, only 4% of the land.
Expropriation sparks debate over justice
Expropriation laws can be seen in the larger context of the political struggle for justice of past injustice against the Black African population, beginning with the colonial conquest during the country’s establishment.
“The issue of compensation and uncompensated expropriation has been a controversial topic in South Africa over the last few decades,” writes Jonis Gedy Arasou, who coordinates Africanism today. “At the heart of this discussion, this is about whether the principle of private property should remain sacred, or whether it is appropriate to put it aside to national interests.”
According to Alasow, another important theme of the debate was the country’s “cyclicalization of land confiscation,” with some arguing that the land reform project should focus on the period between 1913 (a period when the Native Land Act sworn Africa’s population through large-scale expropriation of land) and 1994, aiming for historic foreclosure from historic lands from historic South African lands. The confiscation of the land and slavery that served as the basis for the subsequent decades and centuries of colonial expansion. ”
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Elon Musk: Behind the scenes of the Trump administration
A super rich and influential figure with strong ties to South Africa plays an important advice role in Trump’s own administration.
These include Trump’s financial backer Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man. Musk was born and raised in South Africa and later lived in Canada and the United States, where he met Thiel, who spent his long-standing childhood in South Africa and Namibia.
Musk became infamous for his role in the leadership of the US government, launching attacks on social programs and federal workers through leadership in Trump’s Doge (Doctor of Government Efficiency) initiative. Musk also uses his vast influence to promote the narrative of South Africa’s so-called white genocide. “Leah, few people know that South Africa has a major political party that is actively promoting white genocide,” Musk wrote in a March X post. “A month ago, the South African government passed a law without paying that would legalize the acquisition of property from white people from WILL. Where is the rage? Why is there no reporting by legacy media?”
