Trump sets refugee ceiling at record-low 7,500 with focus on white South Africans

U.S. President Donald Trump has set the refugee admissions ceiling for fiscal year 2026 at 7,500, the lowest in American history, according to a White House document published on Thursday (October 30). The move is part of a broader effort to reshape global refugee and asylum policies.

In his annual refugee determination dated September 30, Trump said admissions would focus largely on South Africans from the white Afrikaner minority, a group he claims faces racial persecution — a charge denied by the South African government.

Trump halted all U.S. refugee admissions when he took office in January, saying they would resume only if deemed in the nation’s best interest. Weeks later, he announced plans to admit Afrikaners, prompting criticism from refugee advocates. According to Reuters, only 138 South Africans had entered the United States by early September.

The document said Washington may also consider admitting “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.” An internal government memo from April suggested the administration could give priority to Europeans targeted for political views, such as opposition to mass migration or support for populist movements, though this was not explicitly stated in Trump’s public plan.

During the UN General Assembly in September, senior Trump officials urged other nations to back a global rollback of asylum protections — a significant shift from post-World War II migration norms.

The new 7,500 cap marks a sharp reduction from the 100,000 refugees admitted under former President Joe Biden in fiscal 2024. Critics argue the cut will damage America’s reputation as a haven for the persecuted.

Gideon Maltz, CEO of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, said the decision undermines U.S. interests:

“Refugees help address labour shortages and have been extraordinarily good for America. Dismantling the programme today is not putting America first.”

In a related move, the White House announced that oversight of refugee resettlement will shift from the State Department to the Department of Health and Human Services, signalling a major administrative restructuring of the U.S. refugee system.

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