Blow to Ramaphosa as Trump Announces New Visa Restrictions on South Africa

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced new visa restrictions targeting foreign nationals accused by the US of being involved in policies promoting racial discrimination, inciting violence, or enabling land seizures without compensation in South Africa.

In a policy announced on September 15, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move follows concerns raised by the Trump administration over the treatment of Afrikaners and other minority groups in South Africa.

“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.”

Trump Targets Foreign Nationals With New South Africa Visa Restrictions

According to Rubio, the new policy will target foreign nationals who are responsible for or complicit in the enactment or implementation of laws and policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination or the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups.

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The US Secretary of State said Washington remains concerned about what it described as racially motivated crime and government-sponsored discrimination affecting Afrikaners and other minority populations in South Africa.

The administration also raised concerns over rural crime, race-based legislation and rhetoric that it says could contribute to racial violence.

In addition, Rubio said the new restrictions would be implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act.

The provision allows the US Secretary of State to determine that a foreign national is inadmissible when their entry into the United States could have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the country.

The State Department further said the restrictions would apply to individuals connected to policies involving uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, and incitement of imminent violence.

Certain family members of individuals covered by the restrictions may also be affected.

Trump Administration Raises Land Expropriation Concerns

Furthermore, the US specifically highlighted South Africa’s land policies, including concerns over the possibility of land expropriation without compensation.

The Trump administration had previously raised the issue through Executive Order 14204, titled “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa.”

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Rubio said the South African government had not adequately addressed the concerns previously raised by the United States.

The Secretary of State urged the South African government to take steps to address what Washington described as serious concerns over discrimination, land policies and violence.

Rubio said the policies targeted by the new visa restrictions undermine peace, economic stability and the rule of law, and are inconsistent with the principles guiding US foreign policy.

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US President Donald Trump while delivering remarks in New York on May 22, 2026
PHOTO/White House