President Donald Trump has slashed the U.S. refugee admissions ceiling to a record low of 7,500 for the 2026 fiscal year, marking the most restrictive policy in the nation’s modern history and signaling a dramatic pivot toward selective refugee intake focused primarily on white South Africans.
The new cap, published Thursday in the Federal Register, represents a sweeping reduction from the 125,000-refugee ceiling set under President Joe Biden and underscores Trump’s broader effort to overhaul America’s refugee and asylum policies. The White House document stated that the limited admissions were “justified by humanitarian concerns or otherwise in the national interest,” but offered no further explanation.
The Trump administration’s plan, confirmed by multiple government officials, centers on admitting predominantly white South Africans from the country’s Afrikaner minority. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Afrikaners face racial persecution in South Africa, an allegation strongly denied by Pretoria.
The 7,500-person cap marks a stunning reversal from previous decades, when the U.S. routinely resettled tens of thousands fleeing war and oppression across the globe. When Trump took office, he paused all refugee admissions, declaring they could resume only if proven to be in America’s best interest. The current determination builds upon that stance, suggesting the administration will also consider admitting “other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”
Refugee advocates reacted with outrage. “By privileging Afrikaners while continuing to block thousands of refugees already vetted and approved, the administration is once again politicizing a humanitarian program,” said Sharif Aly, president of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Global Refuge, said the decision “undermines the program’s purpose as well as its credibility.”
Human Rights First condemned the cut as a “new low point” for U.S. foreign policy. “This decision will further destabilize front-line states that host most of the world’s refugees, undermining U.S. national security in tandem,” said Uzra Zeya, the group’s president.
The administration’s move comes amid a global effort by Trump officials to reshape post-World War II asylum frameworks. During last month’s United Nations General Assembly, top U.S. officials called on world governments to join a campaign to “redefine” international refugee obligations—aiming to curb asylum protections worldwide.
According to Reuters, internal U.S. documents from April suggested the administration could also prioritize European refugees who face discrimination for holding nationalist or anti-immigration views. Those proposals were not included in the public determination but align with Trump’s stated desire to refocus refugee admissions toward “Western values.”
Critics say the reduction will cripple humanitarian programs that historically reflected American leadership in global resettlement. “Refugees strengthen the workforce and contribute to the U.S. economy,” said Gideon Maltz, CEO of the Tent Partnership for Refugees. “Dismantling this program today is not putting America first.”
In a related shift, the White House said oversight of refugee support programs will move from the State Department to the Department of Health and Human Services—a reorganization likely to further centralize control under Trump’s domestic policy agenda.
The United States, once a global leader in refugee resettlement, admitted about 100,000 refugees under Biden in 2024. Trump’s ceiling of 7,500 marks a historic low, redefining America’s role as a destination for the world’s displaced.
