Expert Warns That Resettlement to the US for Afrikaners Could Take Years to Happen
- An expert has highlighted that should United States President Donald Trump's Executive be implemented, it could take years
- Trump gave Afrikaners refugee status and the US Embassy clarified that it also extends to other minorities that are allegedly persecuted
- He said the process could take years and some Afrikaners may not receive refugee status if they cannot prove persecution
Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, provided local and international political analysis and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his nine years of experience.
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JOHANNESBURG — Afrikaners or minority groups in South Africa who want to resettle in the United States after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order granting them refugee status may have to wait a bit. This is according to an expert.
What's Donald Trump's Executive Order about?
Trump's Executive Order claimed that Afrikaners were under persecution and the government was seizing their farmlands. The Executive Order also slammed South Africa's government after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act into law in January 2025.
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AfriForum, which has lobbied for international intervention on farm murders and land policies, has since distanced itself from the Executive Order and said Afrikaners do not want to resettle.
The order has also received strong criticism from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which said that Afrikaners and South Africans who accept the invitation to be refugees must have their citizenship revoked.
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What did the expert say?
According to economist Dr Sam Koma, obtaining refugee status takes years. He said that empirical evidence points to the reality that Afrikaners' rights, land, culture and language have been protected since the beginning of the democratic dispensation.
Journalist Redi Tlhabi said that the United States Refugee Admissions Programme was suspended and the process could drag on. She said a refugee officer could approve or deny the application based on the facts and evidence of persecution.
International Relations Minister slams the order
In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola slammed Trump's Executive Order granting Afrikaners refugee status. He noted it with dismay after Trump publicised it.
Lamola said the order was founded on factual inaccuracies and reiterated that the government does not seize private land. He said the Expropriation Act seeks to address past economic, spatial and racial injustices.
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Source: Briefly News
