Washington: US President Donald Trump has approved the lowest refugee admission limit in US history, allowing only 7,500 refugees to enter the country in the 2026 fiscal year and reserving priority slots for white Afrikaners from South Africa.
The announcement confirms that the US refugee programme will remain sharply restricted, even as millions worldwide flee conflict and persecution. Under the directive, most of the limited refugee places will go to Afrikaners, with the order stating they are “victims of illegal or unjust discrimination”. Trump has repeatedly claimed white South Africans are being targeted at home.
Alongside the cap, the administration will shift refugee resettlement responsibilities to the Department of Health and Human Services, reducing the role of long-standing public and private resettlement agencies. Officials said the change will improve oversight, but critics see it as another move to weaken refugee support networks.
The new limit is a dramatic cut from the 125,000-person cap set under former President Joe Biden. It is also far below the levels historically approved since the Refugee Act of 1980, which created the modern refugee system. More than two million refugees have been resettled in the US since then.
Immigration advocates and refugee organisations condemned the move, calling it a political decision that abandons displaced families worldwide. The International Refugee Assistance Project also criticised the announcement, saying the administration did not follow the required consultation process with Congress. The group called the decision a direct abandonment of global humanitarian responsibilities.
Since returning to the office, Trump has repeatedly spotlighted white South Africans. In February, he issued an executive order cutting aid to South Africa and prioritising Afrikaners for humanitarian entry. The first group arrived in the US in May.
The UN estimates 42.7 million refugees worldwide today, but with the new US limit, a fraction will secure entry this year. The cap will remain in place from October 2025 to September 2026, leaving refugee organisations, state agencies, and asylum advocates bracing for another year of sharply restricted humanitarian admissions.
