CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Prominent Afrikaner organizations in South Africa have firmly rejected an offer from President Donald Trump to grant them refugee status in the United States. The proposal, outlined in an executive order signed by Trump on Friday, also cuts all U.S. aid a

nd financial assistance to South Africa in response to what the Trump administration calls “rights violations” against white Afrikaner farmers.

The order accuses the South African government of failing to prevent violent attacks on Afrikaner landowners and enacting land expropriation laws that permit the seizure of hite-owned agricultural property without compensation. However, South African officials have strongly denied these claims, calling them misinformation.

Afrikaners, a white ethnic group descended from Dutch, French, and German settlers, primarily speak Afrikaans and form part of South Africa’s white minority, which comprises around 7% of the nation’s 62 million people.

Afrikaner Groups: ‘We Are Not Leaving’

Leading Afrikaner advocacy groups Solidarity and AfriForum dismissed Trump’s resettlement proposal on Saturday, stating that their members have no intention of leaving South Africa.

“Our members work here, and they want to stay here. We are not going anywhere,” said Dirk Hermann, CEO of the Afrikaner trade union Solidarity, which represents nearly 2 million people.

Echoing this sentiment, Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, a lobbying group advocating for Afrikaner interests, stated: “We categorically reject the idea of leaving. We will continue to build our future here.”

Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on South Africa—a major U.S. trading partner in Africa—follows statements from both him and South African-born White House adviser Elon Musk, who have accused the country’s Black-led government of anti-white bias. However, this characterization has sparked strong opposition from South African officials.

South Africa Dismisses Trump’s Claims as ‘Propaganda’

South Africa’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the Trump administration’s claims, arguing that Afrikaners remain among the most economically privileged groups in the country.

“It is ironic that this executive order grants refugee status to a group that continues to hold substantial economic power,” the ministry stated, while also criticizing U.S. immigration policies that deny asylum to vulnerable individuals from other regions.

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya reinforced South Africa’s commitment to racial equality, stating: “South Africa is a constitutional democracy that values all its citizens, Black and white. The claim that Afrikaners face persecution and require refugee status is entirely baseless.”

Economic Realities and Land Ownership Disparities

Despite the fall of apartheid in 1994, South Africa’s economic landscape remains deeply unequal. Whites, despite being a small minority, still own around 70% of private farmland. A 2021 study by the South African Human Rights Commission revealed that only 1% of white South Africans live in poverty, compared to 64% of Black citizens.

Trump’s executive order has fueled debate over U.S.-South Africa relations, the politics of land reform, and broader concerns about misinformation campaigns influencing global policies.

Afrikaner Groups Reject Trump’s Refugee Offer, Vow to Stay in South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – President Donald Trump’s recent offer to grant white South Africans refugee status in the United States has been met with resistance from right-wing Afrikaner lobby groups, who insist on staying to “tackle the injustices” they perceive under Black majority rule.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order cutting all U.S. aid to South Africa, citing an expropriation act signed last month by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The act, aimed at addressing the country’s deeply entrenched land ownership disparities, facilitates the state’s ability to expropriate land in the public interest. Trump’s order claims that Afrikaners—descendants of Dutch and French settlers, who currently own the majority of South Africa’s farmland—are victims of unjust racial discrimination and should be granted resettlement in the U.S.

‘We Are Staying in South Africa’

Despite the offer, many Afrikaners have rejected the idea of relocating, stating that conditions in South Africa do not warrant mass emigration.

Neville van der Merwe, a 78-year-old pensioner from Bothasig, a suburb of Cape Town, questioned the need for relocation. “If you haven’t got any problems here, why would you want to go? There hasn’t been any real takeover of land, people are carrying on as usual, so why leave?”

Land Reform and Historical Disparities

White South Africans, who represent approximately 7.2% of the country’s 63 million population, still own around 75% of privately held land, a legacy of British colonial rule and later apartheid-era policies. Under the 1950 apartheid land laws, 85% of South Africa’s land was reserved for white ownership, forcibly displacing 3.5 million Black South Africans.

The African National Congress (ANC), the dominant party in the ruling coalition, has dismissed Trump’s executive order as an attempt to amplify misinformation propagated by AfriForum, an influential Afrikaner nationalist group.