Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump has set the refugee admissions ceiling at 7,500 for fiscal year 2026, the lowest cap on record, according to a White House document released on Thursday. The move marks the latest step in his administration’s effort to reshape refugee policy both in the US and globally. In his annual refugee determination dated September 30, Trump said admissions would focus primarily on South Africans from the white Afrikaner ethnic minority.
The president has claimed that Afrikaners face racial persecution in South Africa, a claim denied by the South African government. Soon after taking office in January, Trump paused all refugee admissions, saying they would resume only if deemed in the national interest. Weeks later, he launched an initiative to resettle Afrikaners in the US.
By early September, only 138 South Africans had entered the country, Reuters reported.
Trump’s determination also said his administration would consider other “victims of illegal or unjust discrimination” for refugee admission.
An internal document prepared by US officials in April suggested the administration might also prioritise Europeans who faced retaliation for political views such as opposition to mass migration or support for populist parties. These groups, however, were not named in Trump’s public plan.
US law requires the administration to consult Congress before setting annual refugee levels. But Democratic lawmakers said on September 30 that the meeting never took place. “This bizarre presidential determination is not only morally indefensible, it is illegal and invalid,” lawmakers including Representatives Jamie Raskin and Senator Dick Durbin said in a joint statement, as reported by Reuters.
A senior Trump administration official blamed the October 1 government shutdown for the delay and said no refugees would be admitted until consultations occurred.
Earlier this month, Reuters and other outlets reported Trump’s plan for the 7,500-person cap, a steep drop from the 1,00,000 refugees admitted under former President Joe Biden in fiscal 2024.
(With inputs from Reuters)
