Rubio Imposes Visa Restrictions on South African Officials Over Land Seizures, Race Policies

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new visa restrictions targeting South African officials the U.S. says are "responsible for, or complicit in" enacting uncompensated land seizures, race-based discriminatory laws, or incitement of violence against Afrikaners and other minority groups. The restrictions, issued under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, extend to the officials' immediate family members.

The move builds on a 2025 executive order and a refugee program that has admitted more than 7,700 Afrikaners to the U.S. as refugees while the administration curtailed refugee admissions from the rest of the world. It follows a 2025 Oval Office meeting in which Trump showed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa a video he said supported claims of a "genocide" against white farmers; CNN's own reporting found no evidence supporting that claim, and Ramaphosa said the video did not reflect government policy.

South Africa's government has denied discriminating against white citizens and defended its land-reform laws as addressing apartheid-era inequality.