The United States plans to reduce the number of refugees accepted annually to a historic low, prioritizing white individuals arriving from South Africa.
Under the new policy, the U.S. will accept only 7,500 refugees in the fiscal year 2026, a sharp decline from the over 100,000 refugees permitted annually during President Joe Biden’s administration.
According to a memorandum from the White House, the vast majority of those allowed entry during the fiscal year that began on October 1 will be white South Africans, as well as “other victims of illegal or unfair discrimination in their home countries.”
The statement emphasized that “acceptance numbers will primarily be allocated to Afrikaners coming from South Africa.”
Former President Donald Trump effectively halted refugee admissions upon returning to the White House in January, with the exception of white individuals from South Africa, despite assurances from Pretoria that they do not face persecution in their homeland.
The first group of approximately 50 Afrikaners, descendants of early European settlers in South Africa, arrived in the U.S. for resettlement in May.
Trump’s campaign was built on a promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, and he signed an executive order in January suspending the U.S. refugee acceptance program.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a researcher at the American Immigration Council, noted that since 1980, over two million people fleeing persecution have been welcomed to the United States through the program.
He expressed concern on social media, stating, “It will now be used as a pathway for white immigration. What a fall for a cornerstone of America’s humanitarian programs.