South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the White House next week The first group of South AfricansRefugee status is granted under new Trump administration policies.
Ramaphosa's office said the visit will provide a "platform that resets strategic relations between the two countries." Rampahosa is the current president of the G20 and President Trump will meet on Wednesday, May 21, the statement said.
The White House has not commented on the meeting yet.
The visit was amid tensions between Ramaphosa and the White House, with 59 people from South Africa's Africa's Dutch community Arrive in the United States Earlier this week. Christopher Landeau said they faced "despicable discrimination" in South Africa after arriving in Washington.
State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce called Afrikaners “a vulnerable group facing injustice racial discrimination in South Africa.”
Ramaphosa rejected the Trump administration's treatment as "incorrect." According to BBC News, Ramaphosa rejected.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa called those who left the United States "cowardly", saying, "When you run away, you're a coward."
The Afrikaans are Dutch whites who live in South Africa for four centuries. In addition to English, Afrikaans also have their own language, Afrikaans, which originated in Dutch and is one of the 12 official languages in South Africa.
In 1948, as South Africa was gaining independence from Britain, the white minority created apartheid system, allowing only white South Africans to vote and rule. In addition to being deprived of political power, black South Africans also face severe restrictions on land ownership, and many were forcibly isolated as settlements.
In 1994, when all South Africans were allowed to vote for the first time, leading to the end of a few white rule. Nelson Mandela won a majority of seats in the African National Assembly, becoming the country's first black president. The ANC has been in power since 1994, but the scandal has damaged the party in recent years, not winning a majority in the 2024 general election, forcing Ramaphosa to form a coalition government.
Thirty years after the end of apartheid, on average, white South Africans still enjoy a higher standard of living than black South Africans, with a study by the South African Commission on Human Rights showing that only 1% of South Africans are considered poor, compared with 64% of Black Africa’s population.
In February, Ramaphosa signed a new law that allows the state to seize land without compensation if it is classified under legislation as “just, fair and in the public interest.”
Although the law is vaguely worded and does not mention white South Africans, many people think it is targeted because they control much of the country's land. The South African government strongly denies land confiscation or racially motivated discrimination, saying the law targets land that has not been used or does not serve the public interest.
In recent years, some have also pointed to attacks on South African farmers. U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau met the country's first group of Afrikaners, who recently claimed they face "serious and targeted threats." However, the South African government said the attacks were the result of border crime and were not racially motivated.
Mr. Trump and adviser Elon Musk, who is a white South African, claiming the attack and potential land loss as "white genocide".
February, Mr. Trump signs executive order Resettlement of Africa Dutch is given priority under the refugee resettlement program. Mr. Trump freezes plans for many other groups on the first day of his term, although the executive order allows for a case-by-case consideration of exemptions.
Although Afrikaners make up only half of the white population of South Africa, Mr. Trump’s executive order only mentions Afrikaners.
According to the U.S. Embassy in South Africa, individuals who meet the following requirements can apply for refugees: