In this episode of The Stakes, host Brad Rourke speaks with South African international development worker Jaco Roets. The conversation unpacks the recent decision by the Trump administration to admit nearly 60 White South Africans as refugees to the United States, despite rejecting claims from more vulnerable populations. 

Roets debunks the claim of “White genocide” used to justify these admissions, pointing to evidence that many of the individuals involved are affluent and unthreatened. He argues that the real story is not about persecution but about exporting a powerful racial narrative: that White identity is under siege in Black-led nations. Roets warns that this story, increasingly a part of American discourse, poses a serious threat to inclusive democracy—recasting perpetrators as victims and sowing fear.