WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to set a refugee admissions cap at 7,500 people this fiscal year, a record low that prioritizes white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, three people familiar with the matter said.
If finalized, the planned cap would be a steep drop from the 125,000 put in place last year under former President Joe Biden and reflect Trump’s restrictive view of immigration and humanitarian protection.
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Trump, a Republican, slashed refugee levels during his 2017-2021 presidency as part of a broad crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration. After returning to office in January 2025, he froze refugee admissions, saying they could only resume if it was determined to be in the interest of the U.S.
Weeks later, Trump issued an executive order prioritizing refugee entries from South Africa’s Dutch-descended Afrikaner minority, saying the white minority group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-Black South Africa. South Africa’s government has rejected those claims.
John Slocum, executive director of Refugee Council USA, urged other elected officials to push Trump to bring in more refugees, saying in a statement that such a low limit would be “jeopardizing people’s lives, separating families, and undermining our national security and economic growth.”
Trump officials had previously discussed annual refugee admissions ranging from 40,000 to 60,000, Reuters reported in recent months.
At a side event at the United Nations General Assembly last week, top Trump administration officials urged other nations to join a global campaign to roll back asylum protections, a major shift that would seek to reshape the post-World War Two framework around humanitarian migration.
Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
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Ted Hesson is an immigration reporter for Reuters, based in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on the policy and politics of immigration, asylum and border security. Prior to joining Reuters in 2019, Ted worked for the news outlet POLITICO, where he also covered immigration. His articles have appeared in POLITICO Magazine, The Atlantic and VICE News, among other publications. Ted holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and bachelor’s degree from Boston College.