South Africa: A development decision has reignited debate about race, immigration and international diplomacy that leaked US documents and revealed that South African officials have assured Washington and would not interfere with the US effort to bring white Afrikaners to the United States as refugees.
Reportedly, a closed-door meeting was held on Dec 23, 2025. It came after tensions that flared between the two countries, by including the arrest of US refugee programme contractors in Johannesburg and a public spat over Trump’s claims of a “White Genocide” in South Africa.
The meeting was marked as ‘sensitive’, and it showed that the Deputy Minister – Alvin Botes and acting Chief Director – Thabo Thage met with US charge d’affaires Marc Dillard to de-escalate the conflict.
As per the document, South African officials emphasised that while they don’t agree with the classification of white Afrikaners as facing genocide, the citizens still retain the right to move to a country of their choice.
A regional analyst said that this is a classic case of South Africa to balance the law enforcement and diplomacy. They can enforce their immigration and visa laws without explicitly blocking a refugee programme by foreign government.
The programme has also sparked intense public discussions on social media and in South African political circles. Many questioned the morality and legality of a refugee programme that are based on race, while others highlighted the pragmatic aspect that South Africa won’t interfere with the rights of its citizens to move abroad, even if the rationale for the programme is widely disputed.
The political commentators suggested that this episode illustrates a broader trend in modern diplomacy with quiet negotiation and pragmatic compromise which often happens behind the scenes, even amid public conflicts and controversial claims.
Furthermore, South Africa has taken a cautious, legally defensible stance that upholds the rule of law while allowing the US refugee programme to proceed. The discussion underscored the delicate balance between sovereignty, diplomacy and the politics of race in international relations.
A leaked information signals that Trump has set a target of 7500 refugee admissions for the 2026 fiscal year, with a focus on Afrikaners. Over 1000 people arrived in the first group that landed in May 2025.
Notably, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of South Africa has maintained its policy and remained unchanged. In a statement, DIRCO said that in adherence to the rule of law that does not equate to endorsement of any foreign policy programme and reaffirmed that the arrests were immigration enforcement matters and not diplomatic signals.