Fact Check: Senator Van Hollen’s Claim on White South African Refugees Debunked

On May 9, 2025, Senator Chris Van Hollen claimed on X that white South Africans granted refugee status by the Trump administration “do not need it,” alleging a “global apartheid policy.”

This statement is factually inaccurate, as evidence shows Afrikaners face significant threats in South Africa, justifying their refugee claims.

X user @AliceVLAuthor countered Van Hollen, citing over 140 discriminatory laws targeting white South Africans, including the Expropriation Act of 2024, which allows asset seizures without compensation, and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment policies that marginalize whites in business.

She also highlighted farm murders, with 2,299 recorded between 1990 and 2024, often involving torture like burning with hot irons or pouring boiling water on victims.

These torturous attacks disproportionately target Afrikaner farmers, creating a climate of fear, exacerbated by chants of “kill the Boer” at rallies and public rhetoric labeling whites as “sub-human.”

Further evidence from the op-ed The Silent Erasure: Cultural Genocide Against Afrikaners in South Africa reveals a systematic assault on Afrikaner identity. Afrikaans-medium schools face closure under the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, threatening the language’s survival—a hallmark of cultural genocide per the United Nations.

Political figures like Julius Malema have fueled hostility, with statements like, “I’m willing to condemn murder, but not of white people,” and his repeated singing of “Dubul’ ibhunu” (“Shoot the Boer”), deemed incitement by critics despite court rulings.

Additionally, 142 race-based laws, such as the Employment Equity Act, enforce racial quotas that exclude whites from opportunities, while systemic failures in service delivery are argued to be intentional to destabilize Afrikaner communities.

Van Hollen’s dismissal of these threats ignores documented violence, cultural erasure, and systemic discrimination.

Afrikaners face genuine dangers, contradicting his claim and supporting their refugee status under international law, which recognizes persecution based on race or cultural identity.

Afrikaners in South Africa are grappling with over 140 discriminatory anti-white laws, including the Expropriation Act that enables land and asset seizures without compensation, restrictive water licensing that cripples farmers, and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment policies…

— My Turn – South Africa (@AliceVLAuthor) May 9, 2025

The Silent Erasure: Cultural Genocide Against Afrikaners in South Africa