US slashes refugee admissions, but prioritizes white South Africans
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The Trump administration sets a refugee cap of 7,500 for 2026, giving priority to white South Africans. Rights groups say the move undermines the US refugee program’s integrity and humanitarian mission.
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President Donald Trump speaks before a lunch with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will limit refugee admissions to a record low of 7,500 people for the 2026 fiscal year, with the vast majority of those accepted coming from South Africa’s white Afrikaner community.
This marks a dramatic departure from the policy under former President Joe Biden, who had authorized the admission of over 100,000 refugees annually during his term.
According to a memo released by the White House, the newly set quota would prioritize “Afrikaners from South Africa” and “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”
Policy raises accusations of racial bias
President Trump, who significantly curtailed refugee admissions after taking office in January, has made repeated exceptions for white South Africans. This is despite Pretoria’s official position that Afrikaners are not subject to systemic persecution.
A group of approximately 50 Afrikaners, descendants of the original European colonizers in South Africa, were resettled in the United States earlier this year under this exception.
Critics say the move signals a racialized shift in US refugee policy. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, stated on X, “Now it will be used as a pathway for White immigration. What a downfall for a crown jewel of America's international humanitarian programs.”
Humanitarian groups condemn the move
Immigration rights advocates swiftly condemned the new cap and prioritization. Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president of the non-profit Global Refuge, said, “For more than four decades, the US refugee program has been a lifeline for families fleeing war, persecution, and repression. Concentrating the vast majority of admissions on one group undermines the program’s purpose as well as its credibility.”
This change comes amid worsening humanitarian crises in countries such as Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Sudan, all of which are home to tens of thousands of people seeking refuge.
In addition to cutting refugee numbers, the Trump administration has begun moves to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of several countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, and Venezuela. TPS provides protection for foreign citizens who cannot return safely to their home countries due to war, natural disasters, or extraordinary conditions.
Trump's 'White genocide' narrative dismissed
White South Africans, who comprise 7.3% of the population, still control a disproportionate share of the country’s wealth and land. They own approximately two-thirds of the farmland and earn, on average, three times more than Black South Africans.
Historically, Afrikaner-led regimes institutionalized apartheid, a system of racial segregation and oppression, which was dismantled only in 1994.
President Trump has been pushing the claim of a "white genocide" in South Africa, which is widely rejected by South African officials and international observers.
Even President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed the claims in a previous meeting with his American counterpart in Washington.
Ramaphosa remained calm in the face of the allegations and countered them directly, pointing to the presence of white South Africans, including billionaire Johann Rupert, in his delegation, as evidence that fears of an anti-white campaign were baseless.
“If this were happening,” Ramaphosa said, referencing the alleged killings and expropriations, “they would not be here.”
During a meeting with South African President Cyril #Ramaphosa, Donald #Trump repeated several false and misleading claims about the treatment of white farmers. These include allegations of genocide, violent land seizures, and misrepresented imagery. pic.twitter.com/2JWmYbojvz
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 23, 2025
