Trump Proposes Pathway to Citizenship for South African Farmers After Controversial Law

Sarah Arnold | March 09, 2025 12:00 PM

President Donald Trump has proposed a new pathway to citizenship for South African farmers and families seeking refuge from land expropriation and violent attacks in their home country. This offer comes as the U.S. government moves to pull funding from USAID programs in South Africa, a move that Trump claims will help those in need of safety and a better future.

“South Africa is being terrible, plus, to long-time Farmers in the country. They are confiscating their LAND and FARMS, and MUCH WORSE THAN THAT. A bad place to be right now, and we are stopping all Federal Funding,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.

“To go a step further, any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship. This process will begin immediately!” His post continued.

This comes after Trump signed an executive order last month that halted federal aid to South Africa over property laws that imposed “unjust racial discrimination” against white South African farmers. His frustration with the African government began when he exposed the country’s new Expropriation Act, which allows the confiscation of private property without reimbursement. Trump has accused the law of targeting only white farmers.

While the president didn’t state details about his proposed plan, Trump said that the U.S. would “promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation” and directed his Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to prioritize their resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program.”