In the spring, President Trump welcomed a group of 59 white South Africans, or Afrikaners, to America. In the blink of an eye, Democrats — who hadn't met a refugee or asylum seeker they didn't love — were suddenly opposed to immigration.
Why?
Because the Afrikaners are white, and they showed up not as a group of military-aged men, but families, waving American flags and genuinely happy to flee a country where they are actually persecuted and killed for being white.
MSNBC said these families were "descendants of white supremacy," and CNN said they not only deserved to have their farms confiscated, but that they should go "back to Germany." Senator Chris Van Hollen said the white genocide in South Africa was "fake news," but in fairness, he may have been mad the Afrikaners didn't invite him over for margaritas.
Any question of whether or not bringing the Afrikaners here was justified was laid to rest when the African National Congress (ANC) released a statement lamenting the fact that the refugees were able to flee South Africa before being punished.
Here's some of what that letter said (emphasis added):
Let it be categorically stated: there are no Afrikaner refugees in South Africa. No section of our society is hounded, persecuted or subject to ethnic victimisation. These claims are a fabrication and a cowardly political construct designed to delegitimise our democracy and insult the sacrifices made by generations who fought for freedom.
This year, as we commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter, we recall its enduring truth that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.” This is further enshrined in our Constitution, which affirms equality, dignity and non-racialism as the bedrock of our national life.
What the instigators of this falsehood seek is not safety, but impunity from transformation. They flee not from persecution, but from justice, equality and accountability for historic privilege.
The misuse of refugee protections to shield right-wing, anti-transformation elements is a violation of the spirit and letter of international law. Millions around the world face real persecution and they are the ones deserving of sanctuary, not those offended by a democratic society working to redress past injustice.
If they thought this helped their cause, they were sorely mistaken.
That letter spelled out the public policy towards whites in South Africa: they must be "transformed" and face "justice...and accountability for historic privilege."
Mamdani said that South Africa is the "model for New York," an overlooked piece of Mamdani's inaugural address should be raising alarm bells for everyone in New York and across America, especially in cities where Mamdani's Democratic Socialist comrades are now wielding power.
''South Africa is the model for New York'' literal nightmare headline pic.twitter.com/vAHEgaqbwd
— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) January 6, 2026
Here's more from Ben Clerkin at Spectator:
So what can New Yorkers look forward to under their energetic and muscular new form of socialism? Mayor Mamdani gave them clues, advising them to “look to Madiba and the South African Freedom Charter.” The charter that Madiba – Nelson Mandela – helped forge with the ANC was the blueprint for post-apartheid South Africa. It opens with the words “our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality.” Suggesting that apartheid is alive and well in New York will have brought another big gulp from Schumer and the Democratic establishment. The Democrat Socialists of America have so far failed to persuade the country that apartheid exists in Israel, so it’s ambitious to think they can make the case for its existence in New York. This is testing the very limits of grievance politics. And the current almost failed state that is South Africa, with white farmers fleeing to America as refugees, bodes particularly ill as a template for New York.
As in South Africa, the enemy in Mamdani’s New York is often white people. He has already vowed to target “whiter neighborhoods” for higher taxes. In his inaugural speech he zoned in on another set of unprosecuted criminals: billionaires. They think they “can buy our democracy” and for too long New York has belonged to “the wealthy and well-connected.” Billionaires seemingly the scourge of the city and also neatly the solution to its problems – just increase their taxes.
As we pointed out multiple times over the past few days, Mamdani's housing/tenant advisor Cea Weaver hates white people, too, and looks to confiscate their property because private property ownership is a "tool of white supremacy." This is not a new ideology, of course. Back in 2002, Harvard Magazine was calling for the destruction of the white race.
Historically, socialism has quite the body count, with tens of millions dead in the 20th century in the pursuit of that "warmth of collectivism" that Mamdani wants for New York. The Left's demonization of Afrikaners and white Americans leads to nothing good. As we see in South Africa, it leads to genocide and a need to flee the country.
And if that's what Mamdani wants for New York (and his DSA comrades for the rest of the country), we need to wake up to the realities of socialism before that nightmare becomes a reality.
