US announces Visa Restrictions Over South Africa’s Land Policies

The United States has announced a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals it accuses of being responsible for, or complicit in, policies involving uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination and incitement of violence against minority groups in South Africa.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement in a statement, citing President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14204, titled “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa.”

Rubio said the United States remains “gravely concerned about racially motivated crime and government-sponsored discrimination occurring against the Afrikaners and other minority populations in South Africa.”

He also cited concerns over “race-based discriminatory legislation, threats of land expropriation without compensation, and incitement of racial violence through dehumanizing chants and slogans.”

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According to Rubio, the South African government has not adequately addressed the concerns previously raised by Washington.

He said the new policy would be implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and would target foreign nationals involved in the enactment or implementation of policies that enable uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination or the incitement of imminent violence against minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.

“The United States will not allow such behavior to go unchecked,” Rubio said.

He added that such actions “directly undermine peace, economic stability, and the rule of law, and they are incompatible with the pillars of America’s foreign policy.”

Rubio urged the South African government to take urgent steps to address what he described as “these egregious actions.”

The US Secretary of State said the visa restriction policy is authorised under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the Secretary of State to declare a foreign national inadmissible where their entry into the United States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

He added that certain family members could also be covered by the restrictions.