The Trump administration is considering a radical overhaul of the U.S. refugee system that would slash the program to its bare bones while giving preference to English speakers, white South Africans and Europeans who oppose migration, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.
The proposals, some of which already have gone into effect, would transform a decades-old program aimed at helping the world’s most desperate people into one that conforms to President Donald Trump’s vision of immigration — which is to help mostly white people who say they are being persecuted while keeping the vast majority of other people out.
The plans were presented to the White House in April and July by officials in the departments of State and Homeland Security after Trump directed federal agencies to study whether refugee resettlement was in the interest of the United States. Trump had suspended refugee admissions on his first day in office and solicited the proposals about how and whether the administration should continue the program.
Trump administration officials have not ruled out any of the ideas, according to people familiar with the planning, although there is no set timetable for approving or rejecting the ideas. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential plans.
The proposed changes would put new emphasis on whether applicants would be able to assimilate into the United States, directing them to take classes on “American history and values” and “respect for cultural norms.”
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The proposals also advise Trump to prioritize Europeans who have been “targeted for peaceful expression of views online such as opposition to mass migration or support for ‘populist’ political parties.”
That appeared to be a reference to European far-right political party Alternative for Germany, whose leaders have trivialized the Holocaust, revived Nazi slogans and denigrated foreigners. Vice President JD Vance has criticized Germany for trying to suppress the views of the group, which is known as the AfD.
A senior official said the Trump administration was monitoring the situation in Europe to determine whether anyone would be eligible for refugee status. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan had not been finalized.
Trump enacted some of the proposals in the documents even before the plans were submitted to him, including slashing refugee admissions and offering priority status to Afrikaners, the white minority who once ran South Africa’s brutal apartheid system.
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Trump has claimed that Afrikaners face racial persecution in their home country, a claim vigorously disputed by government officials there. Police statistics do not show that white people are more vulnerable to violent crime than other people in South Africa.
Taken together, the proposals provide a window into Trump’s intentions for a program that has come to symbolize America’s role as a sanctuary.
Trump and many American voters have rejected that role after years of record illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. Although the refugee program, with its meticulous screening processes and yearslong waits, is considered the “right way” of seeking protection in the United States, Trump has made clear that he wants to crack down on immigration in general — both legal and illegal.
According to the rationale laid out in the documents submitted to Trump, America’s acceptance of refugees has made the country too diverse.
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“The sharp increase in diversity has reduced the level of social trust essential for the functioning of a democratic polity,” according to one of the documents. The administration should only welcome “refugees who can be fully and appropriately assimilate, and are aligned with the president’s objectives.”
To that end, the documents say, Trump should cancel the applications of hundreds of thousands of people who are already in the pipeline to come to the United States as refugees, many of whom have gone through extensive security checks and referrals.
And Trump’s federal agencies proposed imposing limits on the number of refugees who can resettle in communities that already have a high population of immigrants, on the basis that the United States should avoid “the concentration of non-native citizens” in order to promote assimilation.
Thomas Pigott, a spokesperson for the State Department, would not comment on specific details of the documents, but he said, “It should come as no surprise that the State Department is implementing the priorities of the duly elected president of the United States.” He added, “This administration unapologetically prioritizes the interests of the American people.”
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The administration has made some exceptions to its refugee ban. According to the documents, federal agencies have worked to resettle a limited number of Afghans who assisted U.S. service members during the war.
Critics say the plans expose the president’s vision for what America should look like.
“It reflects a preexisting notion among some in the Trump administration as to who are the true Americans,” said Barbara L. Strack, a former chief of the refugee affairs division at Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. “And they think it’s white people, and they think it’s Christians.”
Other changes include more intensive security vetting for refugees, including expanded DNA tests for children to ensure they are related to the adults they are traveling with.
Trump also is planning to slash the number of refugees allowed into the United States to 7,500 in the upcoming year, a drastic decrease from the limit of 125,000 set by the Biden administration last year.
Trump is required by law to consult Congress on imposing a refugee limit, but White House officials say the government shutdown has delayed that.
Administration officials are not done submitting proposals to the White House. According to a draft of a third report, obtained by the Times, the latest proposal calls for U.S. embassies to make referrals for who should be considered for refugee status, rather than the United Nations, which has long been the practice. The change would allow for greater American control of who gets funneled into the refugee pipeline.
At the U.N. General Assembly summit last month, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, defended the Trump administration’s approach during a panel on refugee policies.
“Saying that the process is susceptible to abuse is not being xenophobic; it is not being a mean or bad person,” Landau said.
The administration has argued that allowing thousands of refugees from all over the world to enter the nation would overwhelm American communities that have already called for additional resources to assist the record number of migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border during the Biden administration.
Migrants at the border, however, seek protection through a separate program than refugees, who often wait years overseas before they are vetted to travel to the United States. The refugee program has historically received bipartisan support.
Trump and the architect of his immigration restrictions, Stephen Miller, have for years sought to limit the number of refugees entering the United States, particularly from Africa or Muslim-majority nations. During his first term, Trump demanded to know at a White House meeting why he would accept immigrants from Haiti and African nations, which he described as “shithole countries,” rather than Europe.
His administration now appears prepared to turn those sentiments into policy.
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In the report, administration officials also proposed banning refugees from resettling in U.S. communities that have requested federal aid to assist migrants in recent years.
But many local leaders and refugee advocates argue that not only can refugees adjust to life in America effectively, but they also benefit local economies.
Marian Abernathy, a lay leader at the Judea Reform Congregation synagogue in Durham, North Carolina, has helped refugees who had settled in her community since 2016, including a dozen families in the last four years from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Venezuela and Syria.
The refugees have worked as nursing aides, engineers, Uber drivers, medical technicians and lunch coordinators at local schools, she said.
“They come to dinner at our houses,” she said. “We go to dinner at their houses. We go to events together, hang out at the museum. I don’t feel like they’re not integrated.
“I’ve rarely seen a group of people,” she said, “who work harder and who want fewer handouts.”
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People carry containers of water at a camp for the displaced in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Trump administration is considering a radical overhaul of the refugee system that would slash the program to its bare bones while giving preference to English speakers, white South Africans and Europeans who oppose migration, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. (New York Times) 