President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to set a refugee admissions cap at 7,500 people for this fiscal year, a record low that prioritises white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, three sources familiar with the matter said.
If finalised, the planned cap would represent a steep drop from the 125,000 set last year under former President Joe Biden and would reflect Trump’s restrictive approach to immigration and humanitarian protection.
Trump, a Republican, slashed refugee levels during his 2017–2021 presidency as part of a broad crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration. After returning to office in January 2025, he froze refugee admissions, stating they could resume only if determined to be in the interest of the U.S.
Weeks later, Trump issued an executive order prioritising refugee entries from South Africa’s Dutch-descended Afrikaner minority, claiming the white group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-Black South Africa a claim rejected by the South African government. The first group of 59 South Africans arrived in May, bringing the total to 138 by early September, Reuters previously reported.
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The White House, State Department, and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the planned 7,500-person refugee ceiling for fiscal year 2026, which began Wednesday. The New York Times first reported the plans.
John Slocum, executive director of Refugee Council USA, urged other elected officials to push Trump to admit more refugees, saying in a statement that such a low limit would be “jeopardising people’s lives, separating families, and undermining our national security and economic growth.”
Trump officials had previously discussed annual refugee admissions ranging from 40,000 to 60,000, Reuters reported in recent months.
At a side event during the United Nations General Assembly last week, senior Trump administration officials urged other nations to join a global campaign to roll back asylum protections, marking a major shift aimed at reshaping the post-World War Two framework for humanitarian migration.
