US Announces Visa Restrictions on South African Officials Over Land and Race Policies

• The United States announced a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals involved in South Africa's land expropriation and race-based discrimination laws
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act as the legal basis for the sweeping new measures
• Washington warned that certain family members of those targeted may also fall under the restrictions

The United States has announced a visa restriction policy targeting South African officials and individuals deemed responsible for laws and policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, and the incitement of racial violence against minority groups in the country.

The policy was announced by the US Secretary of State on September 15 and draws on Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorises the Secretary of State to declare inadmissible any foreign national whose entry into the United States "would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States." The restrictions may also extend to certain family members of those targeted.

Read also

Ghanaian battling kidney failure loses landmark case at Japan Supreme Court after being denied welfare support

The announcement is grounded in President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14204, titled "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa," which outlined Washington's concerns about what it described as racially motivated crimes and government-sponsored discrimination against Afrikaners and other minority populations.

Those concerns include race-based legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation, and what the US characterised as the incitement of imminent violence through dehumanising chants and slogans.

The State Department stated that the South African government had failed to adequately address the issues raised in that executive order, prompting the escalation to formal visa restrictions.

Washington Warns Actions Undermine Rule of Law

In announcing the policy, the Secretary of State argued that the targeted actions "directly undermine peace, economic stability, and the rule of law," and declared them incompatible with core pillars of American foreign policy.

"The United States will not allow such behavior to go unchecked," the statement read, adding a direct appeal for Pretoria to act swiftly on the concerns raised.

The visa restriction applies to foreign nationals found responsible for, or complicit in, the enactment or implementation of laws or policies falling within the categories identified by Washington. The State Department did not publish a list of named individuals subject to the restrictions at the time of the announcement.

Read also

Top 10 African countries with the most foreign nationals allowed to live in South Africa

The US government once again urged the South African government to "quickly address these egregious actions," signalling that further measures could follow if the current restrictions fail to produce the desired response from Pretoria.

Mahama defends South African president

YEN.com.gh reported that Mahama previously criticised US President Trump over false claims of a genocide of white people in South Africa as well as land seizures. Mahama held that such comments were an insult to Africans

In an editorial in The Guardian, Mahama also said Trump’s 2025 ambushing of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over claims of racial persecution was unfounded and insulting.

Source: YEN.com.gh