South Africa criticized the United States after reports emerged suggesting that Washington could accept white Africans as refugees as early as next week.
Documents seen by the BBC's US partner CBS describe potential resettlement as a “priority” for President Donald Trump's government, but the timing has not been publicly confirmed by the White House.
In a statement released Friday, South Africa's Foreign Ministry described the move as “political motivation” and was designed to undermine South Africa's “constitutional democracy.”
In February, Trump described Africans as victims of “racism” in an executive order, opening up the prospect of them resettling in the United States.
South African authorities said they would not stop the departure of selected people for resettlement, but they said they had sought the US assurance that the selected people would be thoroughly examined and that criminal charges were not pending.
The South African statement added that allegations of discrimination against the country's white minorities are unfounded and that crime statistics do not show that racial groups have been targeted for violent crimes on farms.
Several groups representing the rights of white farmers say they are being intentionally killed for their race.
A US State Department spokesman interviewed the BBC with individuals interested in resettlement in the US and told them it prioritized “Africans in South Africa, who are victims of unfair racism,” but did not confirm when resettlement would begin.
The Trump administration also accused South Africa of seizing land from white farmers without compensation. Pretoria repeatedly denied it.
US officials are planning a press conference Monday at Dulles Airport, Virginia, to welcome documents to be seen on the CBS show.
